Many people have heard of the “Hippocratic Oath,” the oath of ethics historically taken by physicians. One of the best known ancient Greek medical texts, it is the earliest expression of medical ethics in the Western world, and established several fundamental principles that continue to guide medical practice to this day.

One of those principles is the understanding that medicine, and doctors, must “do no harm” to patients. It lays out the fundamental understanding that the purpose of healthcare is to heal, cure, and to avoid injury.

Unfortunately, this vital precept has been undermined – and in fact, completely subverted – through the practice of abortion in the United States today.

Instead of caring for unborn children in their mothers’ wombs, doctors actively and intentionally end their lives – whether through deadly pills, chemical solutions, or invasive procedures.

It’s estimated that in 2017 alone, 862,000 unborn children lost their lives to abortion.

What’s worse, taxpayer dollars subsidize this lethal practice. Abortions can even be considered as tax deductible expenses.

Under current law, the IRS categorizes abortions as “medical care,” and allows taxpayers to itemize abortions as qualifying out-of-pocket medical expenses on their tax returns.

This is grossly unjust and grossly unethical. The government should not offer tax benefits for a procedure that kills thousands of unborn children each year, nor should taxpayers subsidize such a practice.

This flatly belies the truth that all human beings have dignity and worth, and that the purpose of healthcare is to heal and care for them – not to kill them.

That’s why I introduced the Abortion is Not Healthcare Act this week.

This bill would end the preferential tax treatment of abortion and clarify that this gruesome practice is not healthcare. Specifically, it would amend Section 213 of the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit abortion expenses from being considered as eligible for a medical expense deduction.

We ought not endorse, in our laws or through our money, a practice that undermines the most important, humane principle of healthcare.

Americans – especially those in the womb – deserve better.