{"id":327675,"date":"2025-03-27T16:40:52","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T21:40:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=327675"},"modified":"2025-03-27T11:38:54","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T16:38:54","slug":"hyde-amendment-restrains-unlimited-taxpayer-funded-abortion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/hyde-amendment-restrains-unlimited-taxpayer-funded-abortion\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hyde Amendment restrains unlimited taxpayer-funded abortion, and it should stay that way"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Hyde Amendment<\/a> \u2014 credited with saving millions of lives<\/a> \u2014 stands in the way of unfettered taxpayer-funded abortion on demand, and it should stay that way, because when taxpayers fund abortion, abortions increase<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0pro-life rider created<\/a> in 1976, the Hyde Amendment<\/a> prohibits most taxpayer funding of abortion at the federal level but allows for it in cases of rape or incest, or when the physician determines the pregnant mother’s life is at risk.<\/p>\n

While federal dollars cannot be used to fund all<\/em> abortions, Medicaid dollars sent to the states may<\/em> be used as each state decides. Statistically, when women do not pay for their own abortions, they tend to have more of them.<\/p>\n

In essence, taxpayer-funded abortion appears to incentivize more abortion.<\/p>\n

State coverage of abortion through Medicaid\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

As of March 12, 2025, the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute claimed<\/a> that “19 states [Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington] have a policy or court order that directs state Medicaid funds to pay for abortions under all circumstances….”<\/p>\n

The pro-abortion Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) reported<\/a> that 20 states fund abortions, “exceeding federal requirements,” adding Colorado in addition to the 19 listed by Guttmacher.<\/p>\n

Only “7 states [Alaska, Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and West Virginia] require providers to indicate the method of payment” Guttmacher<\/a> claims.<\/p>\n

Last year, Guttmacher reported<\/a> that 71% of abortion clients who received “care” in states<\/a> where “Medicaid can be used to cover the costs of abortion paid $0 out of pocket for their pills or procedure, compared with only 10% of all abortion patients in states where Medicaid is prohibited from covering abortion.”<\/p>\n

In February of 2024, Guttmacher claimed<\/a> that “Medicaid usage for abortion care was highest among respondents in Medicaid states who identified as Black (70%), Latinx (66%), had one or more prior births (70%\u201377%), those having second-trimester abortions (75%) and those with the lowest incomes (78%).”<\/p>\n

State v. Federal\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

“According to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, between 250,000 and 300,000 women had abortions last year paid for by Medicaid…. The cost is between $45 million and $55 million a year,” the New York Times reported<\/a> in 1976.<\/p>\n

The following year, 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled<\/a> that tax-funding of abortions could be limited. Despite the\u00a0Hyde Amendment<\/a>, taxpayer dollars still fund some abortions, according to expenditure reports at Medicaid.gov<\/a>:<\/p>\n