On Wednesday, the federal Hyde Amendment turns 50 years old.
asserted
Amendment → turn → Wednesday
First passed on Sept. 30, 1976, the Hyde Amendment is a provision of the annual appropriations bill that funds the Department of Health and Human Services.
asserted
that → pass → Health
It largely prevents federal taxpayer dollars from funding elective abortions through the Medicaid program.
asserted
It → prevent → program
Furthermore, pro-lifers would do well to remember Hyde’s lifesaving legacy — as the issue of taxpayer-funded abortion has become increasingly salient in recent years.
asserted
issue → do → years
Prior to Roe v. Wade, political battles over abortion were largely fought at the state level.
asserted
battles → fight → level
At the national level, pro-lifers did not have a natural home in either of the two major political parties.
asserted
lifers → have → parties
However, an early stand-alone vote on the Hyde Amendment in June of 1976 received 207 votes, 113 of which came from House Democrats.
asserted
113 → stand → Democrats
In the end, 312 members of Congress voted to override President Gerald Ford’s veto and approve the appropriations bill that included the original Hyde Amendment.
asserted
that → vote → Amendment
This showed the pro-life movement had bipartisan support and the ability to get legislation through Congress.
asserted
movement → show → Congress
On multiple occasions, the U.S. Supreme Court even struck down state-level pro-life parental involvement laws.
asserted
Court → strike → laws
Not surprisingly, the Hyde Amendment quickly faced legal challenges.
asserted
Amendment → face → challenges
In October 1976, a federal district court issued an injunction preventing the Hyde Amendment from taking effect.
asserted
court → issue → effect
Litigation continued throughout the decade.
asserted
Litigation → continue → decade
However, in Harris v. McRae (1980), the Supreme Court upheld the Hyde Amendment by a single vote.
asserted
Court → uphold → vote
This showed that pro-lifers could successfully defend incremental pro-life laws and achieve real victories in front of the highest court in the land.
uncertain
lifers → show → land
There is a substantial body of political science, economics, and public health research that shows that limits on taxpayer funding of abortion reduce abortion rates and save lives.
asserted
limits → be → lives
Even the Guttmacher Institute, which strongly supports legal abortion, acknowledges that in the absence of public funding for abortion, women on Medicaid are more likely to carry unintended pregnancies to term.
asserted
women → support → term
Overall, my recent Charlotte Lozier Institute policy analysis shows that the Hyde Amendment has saved 2,678,274 lives since 1976.
asserted
Amendment → show → 1976
An analysis of Medicaid birth data shows that 1 in 9 people born to a mother receiving Medicaid owes their lives to the Hyde Amendment.
asserted
people → show → Amendment
When Deanna’s birth mother found out she was pregnant, she was already a single teenage mother to three children under the age of 5.
asserted
she → find → 5
Having a fourth child under these circumstances was far from ideal.
asserted
Having → have → ideal
However, instead of paying for an abortion, the state Medicaid program paid for prenatal care, Deanna’s birth, and infant care.
asserted
program → pay → care
Deanna went on to graduate from Louisiana State University Law School and even spent time working for the Louisiana Attorney General’s office.
asserted
Deanna → go → office
Since the Supreme Court’s June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, many pro-lifers have focused on passing strong pro-life laws in conservative states.
asserted
lifers → focus → states
The rise of abortion drugs has also become a major concern, as mail-order abortions have weakened many of the strong pro-life laws that have been enacted in recent years.
asserted
that → become → years
At the same time, the issue of taxpayer-funded abortion will become increasingly important because the Democratic Party’s leftward shift on sanctity of life issues threatens the Hyde Amendment and other limits on publicly funded abortions.
asserted
shift → fund → abortions
Indeed, at one point, many Democratic elected officials supported the Hyde Amendment.
asserted
officials → elect → Amendment
Seven of the eight budgets submitted by President Bill Clinton included the Hyde Amendment, as did every federal budget submitted by President Barack Obama.
asserted
budget → submit → Obama
That has changed in recent years.
asserted
That → change → years
None of President Joe Biden’s budgets included the Hyde Amendment.
asserted
None → include → Amendment
Furthermore, since 2018, seven left-leaning states have started to use their own taxpayer dollars to fund elective abortions through their respective state Medicaid programs.
asserted
states → lean → programs
Today, most Democratic elected officials support taxpayer funding of abortion.
asserted
officials → elect → abortion
As such, if Democrats gain power in Washington, there is almost certainly going to be a real political battle over the Hyde Amendment.
asserted
Democrats → gain → Amendment
Defending the impressive, lifesaving legacy of the Hyde Amendment needs to be a top priority for the pro-life movement.
asserted
Defending → defend → movement
The Aporia
