March 5, 2021

Pro-abortion Legislators Call on Biden to End Amendments Blocking Abortion Spending

photo credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr
Pro-abortion politicians on Tuesday sent a letter to President Biden to argue for the removal of pro-life protections from the federal budget.

The letter (which was co-signed by IL Sen. Tammy Duckworth and IL Rep. Janice Schakowsky) requests that Biden "eliminate the Hyde Amendment, the Weldon Amendment, the Helms Amendment, and other similar abortion coverage restrictions from your Fiscal Year 2022 budget."

The Hyde Amendment restricts the use of taxpayer funds for elective abortions in the U.S., while the Helms Amendment does the same for funds that are spent abroad. The Weldon Amendment restricts federal funding to states that discriminate against pro-life health care entities.

The Hyde and Helms amendments have been applied to Congressional spending bills since the 1970s, but recently pro-abortion lawmakers have taken a hard stance against them.

Pro-life lawmakers urging Congressional leadership not to end the amendments. Republican Study Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN.) led a group of pro-life congressmen in sending another letter to House and Senate leadership.

That letter read:

“Each year since 1976, Congress has included Hyde protections in annually enacted appropriations. No president in American history has ever vetoed an appropriations bill due to its inclusion of the Hyde Amendment. Moreover, President Obama maintained the Hyde Amendment in each of his budget proposals. As recent as June 2019, former Vice President Joe Biden supported the Hyde Amendment and acknowledged that it works harmoniously with federal funding for women’s healthcare.”

It goes on to point out that the majority of Americans oppose using taxpayer dollars to fund elective abortions. “Years of public polling indicate that repealing the Hyde Amendment is opposed by most of the American public. Congressional Democrats now seek to further erode public trust in government by ignoring mainstream public opinion in favor of placating the radical Left.”

The letter supporting the pro-life amendments was co-signed by IL Representatives Mike Bost, Darin LaHood, Rodney Davis, and Mary Miller.

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