Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and members of the Democratic Women's Conference hold their news conference about the care economy on Thursday, July 1, 2021, in the U.S. Capitol. (Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Progressives Laud 'Discriminatory' Hyde Amendment's Omission From Spending Bill
"This is a huge win for our rights."
Reproductive rights advocates welcomed the Monday advancement of a House funding bill that, for the first time in decades, does not include the Hyde Amendment.
"This is a huge win for our rights," tweeted the National Women's Law Center.
Affecting millions of women annually, the Hyde Amendment bars in most circumstances the coverage of abortion care under federal programs including the Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid.
The anti-choice policy, as KFF noted earlier this year, "is not a permanent law, but rather has been attached as a temporary 'rider' to the Congressional appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and has been renewed annually by Congress" since 1976. "For many low-income women," KFF added, "the lack of Medicaid coverage for abortion is effectively an abortion ban."
Speaking on the House floor ahead of the $253.8 billion spending bill's advancement, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said she was "especially proud that this bill advances equal treatment for women not only by increasing funding for the range of health services, including family planning, covered by Title X, but also by repealing the discriminatory Hyde Amendment."
"Regardless of the original intent of Hyde," said DeLauro, "it has disproportionately impacted women of color and it has ultimately led to more unintended pregnancies and later, riskier, and more costly abortions."
"Quite frankly," she continued, "allowing the Hyde Amendment to remain on the books is a disservice not only to our constituents but also to the values that we espouse as a nation. We are finally doing what is right for our mothers, our families, and our communities by striking this discriminatory amendment once and for all."
The bill also leaves out the Weldon Amendment, a provision that allows healthcare entities to refuse to cover abortion care.
The House Appropriations Committee's move sparked a flurry of cheers from progressive groups like the Center for Reproductive Rights.
"For more than 40 years," said the organization's president and CEO Nancy Northup, "bans on abortion coverage, including the Hyde amendment and related restrictions, have denied insurance coverage of abortion for people working to make ends meet."
"This historic step would not have been possible without the leadership of women of color, who have been organizing in their communities and educating elected leaders for years on the impact of this policy and why it must be eliminated," she added.
President Joe Biden, who previously supported the Hyde Amendment, won progressive praise in May after he released a budget plan omitting the provision.
At the time, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus co-chair, called the development "great news," and said that Biden "has become the first president in decades to remove the Hyde Amendment from the budget, helping advance our fight to end this racist and discriminatory policy once and for all."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just two days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Reproductive rights advocates welcomed the Monday advancement of a House funding bill that, for the first time in decades, does not include the Hyde Amendment.
"This is a huge win for our rights," tweeted the National Women's Law Center.
Affecting millions of women annually, the Hyde Amendment bars in most circumstances the coverage of abortion care under federal programs including the Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid.
The anti-choice policy, as KFF noted earlier this year, "is not a permanent law, but rather has been attached as a temporary 'rider' to the Congressional appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and has been renewed annually by Congress" since 1976. "For many low-income women," KFF added, "the lack of Medicaid coverage for abortion is effectively an abortion ban."
Speaking on the House floor ahead of the $253.8 billion spending bill's advancement, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said she was "especially proud that this bill advances equal treatment for women not only by increasing funding for the range of health services, including family planning, covered by Title X, but also by repealing the discriminatory Hyde Amendment."
"Regardless of the original intent of Hyde," said DeLauro, "it has disproportionately impacted women of color and it has ultimately led to more unintended pregnancies and later, riskier, and more costly abortions."
"Quite frankly," she continued, "allowing the Hyde Amendment to remain on the books is a disservice not only to our constituents but also to the values that we espouse as a nation. We are finally doing what is right for our mothers, our families, and our communities by striking this discriminatory amendment once and for all."
The bill also leaves out the Weldon Amendment, a provision that allows healthcare entities to refuse to cover abortion care.
The House Appropriations Committee's move sparked a flurry of cheers from progressive groups like the Center for Reproductive Rights.
"For more than 40 years," said the organization's president and CEO Nancy Northup, "bans on abortion coverage, including the Hyde amendment and related restrictions, have denied insurance coverage of abortion for people working to make ends meet."
"This historic step would not have been possible without the leadership of women of color, who have been organizing in their communities and educating elected leaders for years on the impact of this policy and why it must be eliminated," she added.
President Joe Biden, who previously supported the Hyde Amendment, won progressive praise in May after he released a budget plan omitting the provision.
At the time, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus co-chair, called the development "great news," and said that Biden "has become the first president in decades to remove the Hyde Amendment from the budget, helping advance our fight to end this racist and discriminatory policy once and for all."
Reproductive rights advocates welcomed the Monday advancement of a House funding bill that, for the first time in decades, does not include the Hyde Amendment.
"This is a huge win for our rights," tweeted the National Women's Law Center.
Affecting millions of women annually, the Hyde Amendment bars in most circumstances the coverage of abortion care under federal programs including the Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid.
The anti-choice policy, as KFF noted earlier this year, "is not a permanent law, but rather has been attached as a temporary 'rider' to the Congressional appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and has been renewed annually by Congress" since 1976. "For many low-income women," KFF added, "the lack of Medicaid coverage for abortion is effectively an abortion ban."
Speaking on the House floor ahead of the $253.8 billion spending bill's advancement, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said she was "especially proud that this bill advances equal treatment for women not only by increasing funding for the range of health services, including family planning, covered by Title X, but also by repealing the discriminatory Hyde Amendment."
"Regardless of the original intent of Hyde," said DeLauro, "it has disproportionately impacted women of color and it has ultimately led to more unintended pregnancies and later, riskier, and more costly abortions."
"Quite frankly," she continued, "allowing the Hyde Amendment to remain on the books is a disservice not only to our constituents but also to the values that we espouse as a nation. We are finally doing what is right for our mothers, our families, and our communities by striking this discriminatory amendment once and for all."
The bill also leaves out the Weldon Amendment, a provision that allows healthcare entities to refuse to cover abortion care.
The House Appropriations Committee's move sparked a flurry of cheers from progressive groups like the Center for Reproductive Rights.
"For more than 40 years," said the organization's president and CEO Nancy Northup, "bans on abortion coverage, including the Hyde amendment and related restrictions, have denied insurance coverage of abortion for people working to make ends meet."
"This historic step would not have been possible without the leadership of women of color, who have been organizing in their communities and educating elected leaders for years on the impact of this policy and why it must be eliminated," she added.
President Joe Biden, who previously supported the Hyde Amendment, won progressive praise in May after he released a budget plan omitting the provision.
At the time, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus co-chair, called the development "great news," and said that Biden "has become the first president in decades to remove the Hyde Amendment from the budget, helping advance our fight to end this racist and discriminatory policy once and for all."