First enacted in 1976, the Hyde Amendment (named for pro-life champion Rep. Henry Hyde of Illinois) is a provision attached to the annual appropriations bill that covers many federal health programs (including Medicaid). The Hyde Amendment currently prohibits the use of federal funds in those programs for abortion, except in the cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.
Genevieve Plaster, Senior Policy Analyst, Charlotte Lozier Institute, testified before the subcommittee today. She concluded that the Hyde Amendment
· has enjoyed bipartisan support for 40 years,
· was re-affirmed as constitutional in 1980,
· enjoys support from nearly seven in 10 Americans (including even 51 percent of those self-identifying as “pro-choice”; 44 percent of Democrats10; 65 percent of African Americans; 61 percent of Latinos; 58 percent of millennials; and 63 percent of women11); and
· has saved an estimated two million lives.
For these compelling reasons, the protective language of the Hyde Amendment should not only be retained as enforced policy, but be codified as a permanent law.
Arina O. Grossu, Director, Center for Human Dignity, Family Research Council, testified about both the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2002 (which passed without a dissenting vote) and how, in light of the experience since, the need for The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (H.R. 3504/ S. 2066).
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