Congressional Pro-life Caucus co-chairs named

WASHINGTON — Reps. Chris Smith, R.-N.J., and Dan Lipinski, D.-Ill., have been named co-chairs of the Congressional Pro-life Caucus in the next Congress.

Smith, who will begin his 16th two-year term in the House of Representatives in January, is probably the leading pro-life advocate in Congress.

Lipinski, set to begin his fourth term, affirmed his pro-life credentials when he refused to join other self-identified pro-life Democrats in supporting the health care legislation that became law in March.

That measure will subsidize abortions in insurance plans.

The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, a bill championed by Smith and Lipinski, is expected to be a leading pro-life initiative in the next session of Congress. It is a government-wide ban on federal funding of abortion.