Annual ‘Hyde Amendment’ Protections Are Increasingly at Risk
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), along with 45 other senators, introduced the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. This legislation would establish a permanent prohibition on federal funding for abortion, replacing the current restrictions with a single, government-wide standard.
“Not a single penny of taxpayer dollars should fund elective abortions. Thankfully, for almost half a century, the Hyde Amendment prevented taxpayers from funding these deadly procedures. However, since the landmark Supreme Court decision that ruled the Constitution does not create a right to an abortion, there has been renewed efforts to abolish the Hyde amendment and other similar provisions,” said Risch. “I am thankful the Court made this ruling, but now we must enact new legislation to prevent any abuse of taxpayer dollars. The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act ensures the sentiment of the Hyde Amendment lives on by preventing taxpayer dollars from funding abortions.”
“Most Americans do not want their hard-earned tax dollars being used for abortion-on-demand, but our current patchwork of regulations has brought years of uncertainty,” Wicker said. “The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act would simplify federal rules, ensuring that American tax dollars are never used for the destruction of innocent, unborn life.”
For over 40 years, an inconsistent and haphazard set of policies have regulated federal funding for abortion. This legislation would make permanent the restrictions on funding for elective abortion and elective abortion coverage, including the Hyde Amendment, which currently rely on yearly approval. It would also eliminate Obamacare’s taxpayer subsidies for elective abortion coverage on the Affordable Care Act exchanges through refundable tax credits.
Risch and Wicker were joined by 45 other senators, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.), and Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), John Kennedy (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), and Todd Young (R-Ind.).
The full text of the bill can be found here.
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