Tag: Hyde Amendment

Arkansas A.G. Asks Congress to Restore Hyde Amendment to Federal Budget

On Monday Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge joined 21 other state attorneys general in signing a letter asking Congress to restore the Hyde Amendment to the proposed federal budget.

The Hyde Amendment is a bipartisan budget provision. It’s been on every federal budget since 1976.

It generally protects Americans from being forced to subsidize abortions with their tax dollars, except in cases of rape or incest or when the mother’s life or physical health are in jeopardy.

Without the Hyde Amendment, federal funds could be used to pay for elective abortions.

Earlier this year President Biden proposed a $6 trillion federal budget, but the proposal did not include the traditional Hyde Amendment language to protect taxpayers from funding abortions.

If adopted, President Biden’s budget could open the door to publicly funded abortion in America.

The letter that A.G. Rutledge signed on Monday notes,

Nearly sixty percent of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion, including “a majority of independents” and even “a notable proportion of Democrats.” . . .

Studies of the Hyde Amendment have found that it has saved the lives of millions of unborn children—saving 2.13 million lives in its first forty years alone, and saving over 60,000 lives per year today.

Taxpayer funding of abortion defies common sense, both fiscally and ethically, and is no way to “unify America.” We call on you to reject the President’s invitation to join in this perilous pursuit.

Public opinion polling shows Americans overwhelmingly oppose paying for abortions with taxpayer dollars.

Even though Americans are divided on whether abortion is right or wrong, generally speaking, most believe abortion should be completely illegal or legal only in a few cases.

In other words, getting rid of the Hyde Amendment would be grossly out of step with the rest of the country.

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President Biden’s $6 Trillion Budget Would Fund Abortions With Taxpayer Dollars

Recently President Biden rolled out a proposed budget with a hefty $6 trillion price tag.

However, the budget proposal does not include the traditional Hyde Amendment rider.

The Hyde Amendment is a bipartisan budget provision. It’s been on every federal budget since 1976.

It generally prevents Americans from being forced to subsidize abortions with their tax dollars, except in cases of rape or incest or when the mother’s life or physical health are in jeopardy.

Without the Hyde Amendment, federal funds could be used to pay for elective abortions. That’s why it’s so significant that President Biden’s budget doesn’t include its language.

The debate over the Hyde Amendment has escalated over the past few years.

As a U.S. Senator, President Biden supported the Hyde Amendment. However he reversed his position in 2019 amid the presidential election.

In 2020 liberals in Washington began pushing to propose a federal budget that would permit taxpayer-funded abortion.

Now the president’s proposed budget does not contain the traditional Hyde Amendment language — which would open the door to publicly funded abortion in America.

Public opinion polling shows Americans overwhelmingly oppose paying for abortions with taxpayer dollars. According to Gallup, most Americans believe abortion should be completely illegal or legal only in a few cases.

Arkansas’ U.S. Senators and Congressmen recently signed a letter opposing taxpayer-funded abortion.

Even the Obama Administration — which was not pro-life by any means — did not try to abolish the Hyde Amendment. In fact, President Obama signed an executive order in 2010 applying the Hyde Amendment to the Affordable Care Act to address concerns about public funding of abortion under Obamacare.

Pro-abortion groups have said many times, “If you don’t like abortion, don’t have one.”

But without the Hyde Amendment, even if you don’t like abortion and you don’t have an abortion, you could still be forced to pay for an abortion with your taxes.

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