June 8, 2020

116 Reps Advocate for Hyde Amendment Protections to Healthcare Funding for Unemployed Americans

Texas Rep. Mike Conaway
On June 5, Texas Rep. Mike Conaway led 116 members of Congress in signing a letter to House and Senate leaders asking that they pass legislation that would apply Hyde Amendment protections to healthcare funding for unemployed Americans.

The letter suggests H.R. 6742 as a solution, saying that the bill “prohibits any funds that are authorized or appropriated for the purposes of preventing, preparing for, or responding to the COVID–19 pandemic, domestically and internationally, from going towards abortions or abortion coverage. In addition, this bill also addresses any attempts to use refundable tax credits from being used to purchase coverage on the exchanges or for COBRA continuation coverage.”

Planned Parenthood already took advantage of some emergency funding passed by Congress during the COVID-19 pandemic by taking $80 million in federal loans meant to help small businesses. Individuals can similarly take advantage of emergency funding for the unemployed by using extra funds to pay for abortions if measures such as H.R. 6742 are not passed.