Democrats’ bid to remove the Hyde Amendment from proposed budget must be rejected

It’s a sad day in America as Democrat’s proposed budget seeks to eliminate the Hyde Amendment, the longstanding federal policy that protects taxpayers from being forced to fund abortions on demand.

For more than four decades after Roe v. Wade imposed elective abortions nationwide, the Hyde Amendment has kept American taxpayers out of the abortion business. Opponents and supporters both agree that Hyde saves lives — nearly 2.5 million lives, in fact. One out of every nine people born to a mother receiving Medicaid since 1976 is here with us because of it, making it one of the most consequential policies in existence, especially for minority communities already decimated by permissive abortion laws. 

The Hyde Amendment has long enjoyed bipartisan support. It has been signed into law annually by both Republican and Democratic presidents and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Even President Biden himself was once an ardent supporter of Hyde. As a U.S. senator for Delaware, he received a letter from a constituent pleading, “Please don’t force me to pay for abortions against my conscience.” Then Sen. Biden wrote back, “I agree with you… those of us who are opposed to abortion should not be compelled to pay for them.”

A lot has changed in almost 45 years, but this bipartisan consensus has endured — until recently.

During his presidential campaign, he came out against the Hyde Amendment, caving to the far-left wing of his party who want it gone. As president, he has fully embraced their agenda and is governing the most pro-abortion administration in history, stacked with activists like HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra who won’t even acknowledge that federal law bans barbaric partial-birth abortions. Despite promises to unite the country and find common ground on critical issues, the administration is dismantling this long-standing policy that has long united Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike.

Pro-abortion Democrats in Congress, including committee leadership, are emboldened. They aren’t only gunning for Hyde, but are looking to eliminate an entire family of similar policies that all work together to protect innocent life. If they succeed, taxpayers will fund abortion with no limits whatsoever.

While leading Democrats have grown increasingly extreme, public opinion has remained consistent. Seventy-seven percent of Americans oppose using taxpayer dollars to promote abortion overseas, and 58 percent oppose using taxpayer money to fund abortions in the United States. 

Congress must reject any budget that omits vital pro-life protections and all Americans who care about defending the unborn must speak up for the voiceless. Lawmakers who fight to preserve Hyde principles should do so fearlessly. This shouldn’t be a political issue, but unfortunately, many on the left have made it one. It is fundamentally un-American to force taxpayers to fund abortions against their will.

It is vital that pro-life protections, including the Hyde amendment and its companion amendments, are preserved in the budget.

Marjorie Dannenfelser is president of Susan B. Anthony List and Ashley Hinson represents Iowa’s first District.