February 17, 2022
Despite fevered efforts by the abortion lobby to destroy the Hyde Amendment, it is continuing to prevail and persevere in the federal government. New reports have come out indicating that, although pro-abortion politicians had promised to include abortion funding in federal plans, there will be no bipartisan agreements unless Hyde is invoked. Let’s discuss this momentum:
Now, a report from Politico says, “Though Democrats won’t publicly admit it, they’re soon set to concede defeat on federal funding for abortion.” The article continues to detail that after months of back-and-forth between the Democrats and the Republicans, the two parties have finally reached a budget framework to please them both—but pro-abortion representatives can’t be too happy because it looks like that framework will not include more federal abortion funding than what the Hyde Amendment already allows for.
Several pro-life representatives spoke out about their strong stance on retaining the Hyde Amendment. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) made it clear to reporters earlier this week that the two parties would not have come to an agreement if the Hyde Amendment had been tossed out the window. He emphasized, “There wouldn’t be any bill at all if we didn’t have those in there. The legacy riders [including the Hyde Amendment] have to be in there.”
Mitch McConnell, the United States Senate Minority Leader (R-Ky), also spoke out earlier in specific support of the Hyde Amendment, saying: “The Hyde Amendment prevents taxpayers from having to pay taxes for abortions. In a 50-50 Senate, we need to honor the bipartisan status quo.”
It’s not just Republican pro-life representatives in favor of keeping Hyde, either. Principled Democrat representatives are also standing strong for the Hyde Amendment. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told National Review last year that a reconciliation bill would be “dead on arrival” if Hyde was not within it. He said, “We’re not taking the Hyde Amendment off. Hyde’s going to be on.”
(Click HERE to read how Senator Manchin was one of two Democrats to reject abortion extremism.)
A Quick Refresher on the Hyde Amendment
Enacted in 1976, the Hyde Amendment, named for pro-life congressman Henry Hyde, prohibits legislation from forcing taxpayers to fund most abortions through Medicaid (unfortunately, the provision does not protect taxpayers from funding the killings of children conceived in rape or incest). It allows pro-life taxpayers to stay true to their conscience and has been linked to the prevention of many abortions — studies show that the abortion rate fell after limiting Medicaid funding in this way. As of July, 2020, the Charlotte Lozier Institute had estimated that the Hyde Amendment had saved about 2,409, 311 lives to date. Clearly, this budget provision is helping to rescue children from abortion violence. Which is exactly why the abortion lobby hates it. For more information, click HERE, and check out the short video on the Hyde Amendment below:What’s the latest news on the Hyde Amendment?
Once a bipartisan matter, the Hyde Amendment has been under increasing fire under the Biden Administration. During his 2020 presidential campaign, Biden reversed his position on the Hyde Amendment and now has said that he no longer supports measures to protect taxpayers from paying for abortions. And this was no small flip-flop. In the early days of the Hyde Amendment, Joe Biden not only supported the amendment – he actually voted against including the exceptions for rape and incest that are in the bill today. In other words, Biden once supported a version of the Hyde Amendment even stronger than the one he is aggressively trying to reverse today. Biden’s Build Back Better Bill actually leaves out the Hyde Amendment entirely, and we’ve seen similar problems with the Biden budget. In response, Students for Life Action has been persistent in mobilizing efforts and vocalizing our support for the Hyde Amendment.
Now, a report from Politico says, “Though Democrats won’t publicly admit it, they’re soon set to concede defeat on federal funding for abortion.” The article continues to detail that after months of back-and-forth between the Democrats and the Republicans, the two parties have finally reached a budget framework to please them both—but pro-abortion representatives can’t be too happy because it looks like that framework will not include more federal abortion funding than what the Hyde Amendment already allows for.
Several pro-life representatives spoke out about their strong stance on retaining the Hyde Amendment. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) made it clear to reporters earlier this week that the two parties would not have come to an agreement if the Hyde Amendment had been tossed out the window. He emphasized, “There wouldn’t be any bill at all if we didn’t have those in there. The legacy riders [including the Hyde Amendment] have to be in there.”
Mitch McConnell, the United States Senate Minority Leader (R-Ky), also spoke out earlier in specific support of the Hyde Amendment, saying: “The Hyde Amendment prevents taxpayers from having to pay taxes for abortions. In a 50-50 Senate, we need to honor the bipartisan status quo.”
It’s not just Republican pro-life representatives in favor of keeping Hyde, either. Principled Democrat representatives are also standing strong for the Hyde Amendment. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told National Review last year that a reconciliation bill would be “dead on arrival” if Hyde was not within it. He said, “We’re not taking the Hyde Amendment off. Hyde’s going to be on.”
(Click HERE to read how Senator Manchin was one of two Democrats to reject abortion extremism.)