Hyde Amendment – Family Council

Nation’s Largest Abortion Provider Renews Opposition to Hyde Amendment

Oct 3, 2024Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Hyde Amendment, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

On Monday Planned Parenthood — the nation’s largest abortion provider — renewed calls for congress to end the Hyde Amendment and pass legislation paying for abortions with taxpayer funds.

The Hyde Amendment is a bipartisan budget provision that generally prevents taxpayer funds from being used to pay for abortions except in cases of rape or incest or when the mother’s life or physical health are in jeopardy. Without the Hyde Amendment, public funding could be used to pay for abortions for any reason.

The Hyde Amendment is a bipartisan compromise that has existed since the 1970s, but debate over the measure has escalated in recent years.

For example, in 2016 and 2020, Planned Parenthood began calling for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment.

As a U.S. Senator, President Biden supported the Hyde Amendment, but he reversed his position during his presidential campaign in 2019 and 2020.

In 2020 and 2021 liberals in Washington began pushing to propose a federal budget that would permit taxpayer-funded abortions.

Planned Parenthood’s statement on Monday called for Congress to end the Hyde Amendment and pass the EACH Act — a law that would pay for abortions with taxpayer funds.

Public opinion polling has shown time and again that Americans overwhelmingly oppose taxpayer-funded abortion.

Abortion ends the lives of unborn children. Repealing the Hyde Amendment would hurt women and unborn children, and it would be grossly out of step with will of everyday Americans.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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

Jun 23, 2021Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Hyde Amendment

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.

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

Jun 2, 2021Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Hyde Amendment

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.