The New York State Catholic Conference, which represents the bishops of New York in public policy matters, sent a letter to the state’s congressional delegation urging them “to reject taxpayer funding of abortion, and to oppose appropriations bills that do not include the long-standing, bipartisan Hyde Amendment and related pro-life policies.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and several other Republican leaders in the House asked their Democratic counterparts June 22 to take up a measure introduced by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., that would make the long-standing Hyde Amendment permanent.
The Women’s Health Protection Act, introduced in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House June 8 “would invalidate nearly all existing state limitations on abortion,” said Jennifer Popik, director of federal legislation for National Right to Life.
President Joe Biden unveiled his proposed budget of $6 trillion for fiscal year 2022 that would include spending to improve and modernize the nation’s infrastructure, provide free pre-K and community college, and increase domestic programs aimed at boosting public health and helping the poor. His plan does not include the Hyde Amendment.
Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, is leading a petition to protect Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding of abortion. The amendment faces growing opposition from members of Congress and the Biden Administration.
Diocesan Respect Life coordinators and the Pro-Life Secretariat of the U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops are encouraging Catholics to speak out against the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, legislation which bans federal Medicaid funding of abortions.
The Hyde Amendment, born in 1976, has had a fairly long congressional history, but it could be marked for extinction.
If the Equal Rights Amendment were to become part of the U.S. Constitution, its opponents say, it will actually harm women’s interests and invalidate pro-life policies, such as the federal Hyde Amendment and all state restrictions on tax-funded abortions.
The House passed the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, also referred to as the American Rescue Plan of 2021, early Saturday morning, Feb. 27. While the bill will fund vaccines, testing and tracing, and will also provide economic relief to American families and adult dependents, it doesn’t include prohibitions on abortion funding.
H.R. 18 — the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2021 — would make the long-standing Hyde Amendment permanent and keep in place similar provisions to ensure no federal dollars are used to pay for abortion and health plans that include abortion.
