WASHINGTON — The U.S. Catholic bishops have expressed alarm that a proposed government regulation fails to make clear that laws banning federal funding of abortion will be respected in congressional health-care plans.

The new rule proposed by the federal government makes no “mention of any limitation with respect to abortion coverage” for members of Congress and their staff, stated a letter from representatives of the U.S. bishops to the federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Existing laws require that no federal funds be used to purchase health-care plans that cover abortions for congressional members or staff, except in the cases of rape, incest or danger to the life of the mother, the letter noted. The letter from the bishops suggested that the proposed rule “should be modified to state expressly” what these prohibitions entail.

The Sept. 3 letter was signed by Anthony Picarello, associate general secretary and general counsel for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Michael Moses, associate general counsel for the conference.

It was delivered during a public comment period on a new suggested regulation dealing with subsidies to federal employee health-care plans.

Currently, the federal government is able to make contributions to health-care plans purchased by federal employees, but a long-standing provision — the Smith Amendment — states that no federal funding can be used toward plans that cover abortion.

However, concerns have been raised over the federal governmentʼs new proposed rule that would help fund health-care plans for members of Congress and their staff participating in the state health exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act, often criticized as “Obamacare.”

The new rule does not explicitly prohibit these federal employees from receiving the funding if they choose plans that cover abortion. Nor does it mention the Smith Amendment.

In their letter, the USCCBʼs representatives argued that the Smith Amendment’s prohibitions on abortion funding apply in the current situation.

They emphasized that the amendment “is not limited to any particular category of plans, but applies to contributions to any plan, regardless of where it is offered or purchased.”