The speaker also expressed his “disappointment” over the Justice Department’s refusal to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act.
“As the Speaker of the House, I have a constitutional responsibility,” Speaker Boehner said. He explained that he would work to uphold the act, which was passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) called for a renewed effort “to once and for all eliminate government funding to any and all organizations that perform abortions.”
“During the debate over Obamacare, the president promised that no taxpayer dollars would be used to pay for abortions under the bill,” he said. “Unfortunately, this is not the way things played out.”
“Next week, we’ll stand up again,” Rep. Cantor said. “We will bring to the floor a bill to ensure that no taxpayer dollars flow to health care plans that cover abortion and no health care worker has to participate in abortions against their will.”
Rep. Cantor also called on the nation’s leaders to “stand up and unite” to defend principles of religious freedom in the face of the persecution of Christians in the Middle East.