Hyde Amendment Has Saved 2.4 Million Babies From Abortion

National   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Jul 24, 2020   |   6:54PM   |   Washington, DC

More than 2.4 million unborn babies have been saved from abortions in the U.S. thanks to the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding for elective abortions in Medicaid.

That figure comes from new research by Charlotte Lozier Institute Associate Scholar Dr. Michael New as Democrats push to repeal the longstanding pro-life amendment.

“More than 2.4 million Americans are alive today because of the Hyde Amendment – but Joe BidenAyanna Pressley, and fellow extremist Democrats have pledged to eliminate Hyde and other crucial pro-life policies, forcing taxpayers to fund abortion on demand through birth,” Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said.

Biden, like many Democrat leaders, used to support the pro-life amendment. For decades, it received bipartisan support. But now, the abortion industry wants it gone, and Biden and others are bowing to the pressure and the millions of dollars in campaign donations that abortion advocacy groups dole out to Democrats.

Though the Democratic Party has shifted on the issue, Americans have not. Polls consistently show that voters strongly oppose taxpayer-funded abortions and are less likely to support candidates who do.

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According to a June poll by SBA List, a majority (50%) of voters – including 55% of independents — said they would be less likely to support Biden because of his support for taxpayer-funded abortions. Polls from Marist and Harvard University show similarly strong opposition to taxpayer-funded abortions.

Dannenfelser said many rank-and-file Democrats support the Hyde Amendment, too, but Democrat leaders like Joe Biden are intent on repealing it.

“President Trump, in contrast, has acted on the will of the American people from day one by doing everything in his power to stop taxpayer-funded abortion,” she said. “The stakes of this pivotal election year are life or death for countless children waiting to be born.”

Trump ended taxpayer funding to groups that promote and/or provide abortions overseas, including the International Planned Parenthood Federation, during his first week in office. Since then, he has enacted other policies to cut off taxpayer funding to abortion groups, but Planned Parenthood filed lawsuits and some pro-abortion Democrat governors defied Trump’s measures by giving their own state taxpayers’ funds to abortion groups instead.

Some states do fund elective abortions with their state taxpayer dollars, but the federal government does not.

According to New’s research, about 60,000 unborn babies are saved each year by the Hyde Amendment.

Dannenfelser said her organization is working hard to educate voters about the vital issue.

“SBA List’s ground team is working tirelessly to contact 4.6 million voters in key battleground states – as many as the last three election cycles combined – to re-elect President Trump and secure a strong pro-life Senate majority,” she said. “Our efforts include reaching out to the millions of pro-life Democrats and Independents who reject Biden’s extremism to ensure every pro-life voter’s voice is heard at the ballot box.”