Pro-Abortion Democrats Block Effort to Enact Permanent, Government-Wide Hyde Amendment

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate held a vote to advance the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (S. 109), but on a near party-line vote, a minority of pro-abortion Democrats blocked consideration of the bill. Forty-eight senators voted to take the bill up for debate, but 60 votes were required.

“It is estimated that over two million Americans are alive today because of the Hyde Amendment,” said Carol Tobias, National Right to Life president. “Americans should be outraged that extremist pro-abortion Senate Democrats voted to block the legislation and those senators will be firmly marked as supporters of federal funding for elective abortion. We applaud Senate Majority Leader McConnell and chief sponsor Sen. Roger Wicker for their leadership on this issue.”

S. 109 would codify the principles of the Hyde Amendment on a permanent, government-wide basis, applicable to both longstanding federal health programs and to the programs created by Obamacare. Currently, under Obamacare, the federal taxpayer is subsidizing the purchase of abortion-covering plans on a massive scale. Under the bill, health plans that cover elective abortions would not qualify for federal subsidies, although such plans could still be sold to those who wish to purchase them with personal funds.

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