More than two dozen members of Congress from both the House and the Senate have warned a federal agency that it is “violating federal law that prohibits congressional health plans from subsidizing elective abortions.”

Twenty-two members of the House and four senators signed a letter October 9 addressed to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Acting Director Rob Shriver. The coalition was led by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO), and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT).

“It is a clear violation of the Smith Amendment for health plans available to Members and staff to offer elective abortion,” members of Congress wrote.

The provision was first authored by Rep. Chris Smith and has been renewed annually for nearly 30 years. It prevents appropriated funds from Congress from being used “to pay for an abortion, or the administrative expenses in connection with any health plan under the Federal employees health benefits program which provides any benefits or coverage for abortions.”

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In a press release on the matter, Smith’s office noted that Aetna health insurance — the only health insurance provider to currently offer congressional-eligible plans that are compliant with the Smith Amendment by excluding coverage of elective abortion, Aetna — will no longer offer health plans in 2025 on Washington, D.C.’s Affordable Care Act exchange known as DC Health Link. As a consequence, only two plans compliant with federal law will be made available for members of Congress and their staff in 2025.

“The severity of OPM’s specious implementation of — or perhaps malicious disregard for — the law must be finally and permanently remedied and brought into compliance with congressional intent,” lawmakers wrote in their letter.

Signatories said the situation was “a tragic result of OPM’s illegal policies,” noting the agency’s continued disregard of federal law over many years.

“The fact that plans available to congressional personnel have not properly excluded abortion coverage has been an ongoing well-documented violation of federal law by the Office of Personnel Management,” they wrote.

OPM has been advised that administering the government contributions for ACA health plans that cover elective abortion violates the Smith Amendment. Most recently, on June 14, 2019, and again on February 19, 2020, Members of Congress sent letters urging OPM to ensure that any health insurance subsidies for Members of Congress and designated congressional staff fully comply with the Smith Amendment.

Lawmakers concluded calling on the agency to “cease the administration of government contributions for Congressional health insurance plans that illegally cover elective abortion.”

LifeNews Note: Louis Knuffke writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.