While the wording of the executive order itself is vague, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre clarified Wednesday that the order “paves the way for Medicaid to pay for abortions for women having to travel out of state.” States could apply for Medicaid waivers that would allow them to use Medicaid funds to pay for abortions.
Pro-life leaders pointed out that the order violates the Hyde Amendment, which restricts federal abortion funding. When reporters asked Jean-Pierre how the Biden administration could legally bypass the Hyde Amendment to provide funding this way, she responded, “we’re going to leave it to HHS to come up with the details on the specifics on how they’re going to work with states — if a state asks for a waiver — and what that’s going to look like.”
This is President Biden's second executive order designed to undermine the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson decision, which gave the right to regulate abortion back to the people through their elected state lawmakers. The first he signed on July 8.
