The Hyde Amendment is a pro-life measure that has been added to federal spending bills for decades. The language is designed to prevent federal tax dollars from being used to pay for elective abortions.
The Republican Study Committee's letter targeted pro-abortion legislators, accusing them of trying to destroy “long-standing, bipartisan protections that generally prevent the federal government from using taxpayer dollars to support abortion procedures.” It continued, “Repealing these pro-life provisions would destroy nearly half a century of bipartisan consensus.”
Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks wrote in a statement of his own, “Despite decades of consensus on this issue, radical Democrats have signaled they no longer have an interest in protecting the conscience rights of millions of Americans who do not want their hard-earned money used to pay for abortions. My colleagues and I demand congressional leaders protect the ban on taxpayer-funded abortions and save the Hyde Amendment.”
Carol Tobias, President of the National Right to Life Committee, voiced her strong support of the Hyde amendment. “The life-affirming impact the Hyde Amendment has had cannot be overstated. The Hyde Amendment has proven to be the greatest domestic abortion-reduction measure ever enacted by Congress. The Hyde Amendment has enjoyed bipartisan support for over 40 years and is widely recognized as having saved over two million American lives since it was first adopted in 1976.”
“Not surprisingly, the Biden-Harris Administration, which enthusiastically embraced the pro-abortion movement’s agenda during the campaign, will be extremely hostile to the unborn child and her mother,” Tobias continued. “We can expect that the Hyde Amendment—which has had overwhelming public support over the years—will only be the first of many pro-life policies targeted.”
