June 25, 2021

22 State Attorneys General Petition Congress to Restore Hyde Amendment

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (R)
On June 21, a coalition of 22 state attorneys general led by Alabama AG Steve Marshall (R) sent a letter to congressional leaders asking them to restore the Hyde Amendment after it was left out from President Biden's 2022 budget request.

The Hyde Amendment prohibits federal tax dollars from funding elective abortions through Medicaid. Originally introduced by the late Illinois Rep. Henry Hyde, this protection was a bipartisan part of every spending bill since 1976.

Marshall told the Catholic News Agency during a phone interview that “Taxpayers who fundamentally oppose abortion shouldn’t have their tax dollars pay for abortion on demand.”

“We were disappointed to find the conspicuous omission of the Hyde Amendment in the budget proposal that President Biden delivered to Congress earlier this month,” the 22 attorneys general wrote in their letter, arguing that they “have a unique interest in the Hyde Amendment as an important protection for the consciences of the millions of Americans who oppose public funding of abortion.”