National Right to Life:

Hyde Amendment Must Be Preserved as Congress Considers Spending and Health Care Legislation

WASHINGTON — National Right to Life (NRLC) is calling on members of Congress to stand firm in defense of the Hyde Amendment and to ensure that Hyde-like protections are included in all federal spending and health care legislation. These longstanding safeguards prevent taxpayer dollars from being used to pay for abortions and reflect the deeply held convictions of the American people.

“For nearly five decades, the Hyde Amendment has served as a moral and legal firewall, protecting Americans from being forced to subsidize abortion through their tax dollars,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Its principles must not be weakened, sidelined, or quietly erased through back-door funding schemes.”

It is estimated that the Hyde Amendment, first passed in 1976, has saved over 2.6 million lives. The Hyde Amendment has consistently been supported by a broad bipartisan consensus and both Democrat and Republican presidents. Poll after poll shows that a clear majority of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion.

Yet that consensus is increasingly under attack.

Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), federal subsidies are used to help purchase health insurance plans that include abortion coverage. While the law contains accounting gimmicks meant to obscure this reality, the practical effect is unmistakable: taxpayer dollars are deeply entangled in subsidizing plans that pay for abortions. This represents a direct departure from decades of federal policy, and a betrayal of assurances made to the American public when the ACA was passed.

“The Affordable Care Act broke with long-standing precedent by allowing abortion coverage to be embedded in subsidized health plans,” stated Tobias. “No American should be forced to fund abortion as the price of helping families afford health care.”

As Congress debates spending packages, health care legislation, and potential extensions of ACA subsidies, National Right to Life urges lawmakers to reject any proposal that weakens Hyde protections or expands abortion funding—whether directly or indirectly.

“Hyde is not extreme,” Tobias emphasized. “What is extreme is forcing Americans to bankroll the taking of innocent human life. Congress must choose conscience, consensus, and compassion—and reaffirm that taxpayer dollars should never be used to pay for abortion.”