As we prepare for an orgy of appropriations in the twilight hours of the 113th Congress, one of the bills under consideration is the State and Foreign Operations Appropriation bill. This might seem to be an arcane place for a battle over the Right to Life to take place, but it is happening and it is important.

President Reagan established what is know as the Mexico City Policy. This essentially conditions the receipt of any US funds by a non-governmental organization on the promise that the agency neither perform nor promote abortions. One of the first acts of Obama, literally, it was on January 23, 2009, was to rescind the policy thereby allowing the best methods of Western infanticide to be linked to the genocidal tendencies of liberal NGOs operating in the Third World.

The House bill reinstates this policy. The Senate, as has been its policy, has done squat. And the pro-aborts and eugenicists are in an uproar.

To be clear, as much as pro-abortion enthusiasts would like to link abortion to womens’ health, and bizarrely to AIDS prevention:

The irony of the Global Gag Rule’s resurgence is that the last time it was in place it not only failed to reduce abortions, but in fact led to more unwanted pregnancies and HIV infections due to inadequate service delivery in affected areas including; Nepal,Zambia and Kenya. In the fight against HIV, preventing unintended pregnancies is a critical component of reducing mother-to-child transmission. Women and families need comprehensive information on family planning services, including access to contraceptives, as part of HIV prevention and care.

Abortion does nothing to help prevent the spread of AIDS. There is no known women’s health condition, outside an ectopic pregnancy, that requires abortion to make it better. And lack of abortion cannot possibly have “failed to reduce abortions, but in fact led to more unwanted pregnancies and HIV infections.”

This is a place where Congress must act. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, for all his other shortcomings, has been a solid pro-life voice:

McConnell voted for the pro-life Mexico City Policy. He voted to cut off funding to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which participates in the carrying out of China’s One-Child Policy that relies on forced abortions. He also voted to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion provider. McConnell has stood resolutely from the beginning against funding of abortion in Obamacare and its mandates that violate rights of conscience.

If the Senate will not acquiesce to the reinstatement of the policy, in light of the choice the American people made in November, then it shows Reid continues to be unable to act in anything approaching good faith. It would point to the folly of the Congress enacting more than a short term continuing resolution to carry the government forward until a new Congress convenes.