Even if you don’t follow politics closely, you’ve likely heard about the Hyde Amendment, which restricts taxpayer dollars from paying for elective abortions in federal programs such as Medicaid. It comes up often because Congress routinely incorporates it into its annual spending bills – and now it’s back in the news as lawmakers again wrestle over money.
This policy is longstanding: It has been included in funding bills since 1976, regardless of which party controls Congress and the White House. It is lifesaving: 2.4 million lives and counting. And it is broadly supported across the political spectrum: A 2021 Knights of Columbus/Marist poll found that 58% of Americans oppose using taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions, including 65% of independents and 31% of Democrats.
That hasn’t stopped the media from portraying the Hyde Amendment as “controversial,” nor has it stopped politicians from trying to reverse the life-saving policy. Why the distorted characterizations?
Democrats in Congress, as well as President Joe Biden (who supported the Hyde Amendment for more than 30 years until the 2020 presidential primary), have called to remove the Hyde Amendment from annual appropriations measures. That’s exactly what the president’s budget proposed, and what multiple House-passed appropriations bills have done.
Congress has until Dec. 3 to appropriate funding for fiscal year 2022, and whether Hyde will remain is an open question. Meanwhile, a $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill proposes to enact new health-related spending, including a Medicaid look-alike program, without applying Hyde protections. Biden has indicated that he would sign a reconciliation bill with or without Hyde protections.