Here's Where The Major 2020 Candidates Stand On Federally Funding Abortion Care

By Christianna Silva


On Wednesday, June 6, former vice president and current Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden confirmed that he still assists the Hyde Amendment, a measure that prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion, despite the procedure being legal across the country.


Biden immediately faced backlash from the Democratic Party, and particularly progressive members, given how the amendment disproportionately and negatively affects poor people and people of color, who may visualize cost as a barrier from safely acquiring an abortion procedure.


What is the Hyde Amendment?


Simply put, the Hyde Amendment bans federal funds for abortions. The amendment passed in 1976, just three years soon following the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that abortion is a legal right; it has since been voted on almost every year as a piece of the annual Health and Human Services appropriations bill for the past four decades, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. (Appropriations costs are passed to fund various governmental programs, and must be passed annually.)


There have been several different variations of amendment within the past 42 years, nevertheless the current version includes exceptions that permit Medicaid funds to be used for abortions in cases of rape, incest, or the health of the pregnant person, according to the American Center for Law and Justice. All other federal funding of abortion is now banned.


The amendment was named immediately after one of its biggest anti-choice advocates, the late Republican congressman Henry Hyde from Illinois. Although from the outset, pro-choice groups like the Reproductive Freedom Project, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Recommended Parenthood mentioned that the amendment unfairly affected poor girls. They took the amendment to the Supreme Court, where, in 1980, SCOTUS ruled it to be constitutional.


According to a 2009 report from NPR, while in the three years soon after Roe v. Wade legalized abortion and before the Hyde Amendment banned federal funding for the procedure, tax dollars funded about 300,000 abortions annually — roughly 25 percent of the abortions performed legally while in that time. Soon following the Hyde Amendment went into effect, abortions financed by the federal government dropped to a couple of thousand each year, though the particular collection of abortions being performed has not refused as steeply. (For that, nevertheless, Suggested Parenthood has credited better access to contraception and comprehensive sex education, not legislation, given that the birth rate hasn’t increased, either.)


Why does it matter?


The ACLU argues that the Hyde Amendment is pretty blatantly sexist, saying “for no covered medical service that boys need does the federal Medicaid program restrict the common for reimbursement as it does for abortions.”


In addition, the union argues that in practice, putting restrictions on public funding for the procedure effectively takes away the correct to an abortion from poor people, and especially poor people of color, who are pregnant. Although, people with higher incomes can afford to travel to have the procedure or pay for their abortions out-of-pocket.


“The problem is, the Hyde Amendment affects poor ladies, girls of color, black ladies, Hispanic women,” Patti Solis Doyle, who served as Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign manager in 2008 and has also worked for Biden, instructed them New York Times on Wednesday. “And women of color will elect the next president of the United States.”


Where do the candidates stand on it?


The Hyde Amendment originally had bipartisan support in Congress, and maintained that support for some time, according to the American Center for Law and Justice. Since it is piece of the annual appropriations process, nearly every sitting member of Congress has voted on it as piece of the HHS appropriations bill.


One of the opening presidents to campaign against it was then-President Bill Clinton in 1992. He urged Congress to overturn it, yet, immediately after politics got in the way, compromised to amend the act and permit federal reimbursement for abortions in cases of rape or incest, according to the library at the Eternal Word Television Network. President Barack Obama didn’t make his suggestion on the amendment clear, yet he did include similar protections in the Affordable Care Act, according to the Kaiser Family member Foundation, banning federal funds for abortion services except in the cases of rape, incest, or as soon as the life of the pregnant person is in danger.


The amendment is quite popular among constituents, according to polls reviewed by Vox, so Democratic candidates generally steered clear of the legislation. Nevertheless immediately after grassroots activism made the Hyde Amendment a topic of discussion again, arguing that abortion needs to be not just legal nevertheless also affordable, most Democratic presidential candidates have pivoted to supporting the repeal of the amendment.


case in point, the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH Woman) Act is a bill in Congress now that would effectively repeal the Hyde Amendment. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders, Eric Swalwell and Seth Moulton — all of whom are running for the Democratic nomination – are all co-sponsors. The only sitting members of Congress who aren’t co-sponsoring the bill are Michael Bennet, Tulsi Gabbard, and Tim Ryan.


Democrats have been asking President Donald Trump to repeal the amendment since 2016; his entire track record suggests that won't happen under his watch. Here’s where all the Democratic presidential candidates stand on the Hyde Amendment:


Michael Bennet supports repealing the amendment. He tweeted: “Defenders of females and their health care rights have agreed for decades: the Hyde Amendment is federally sanctioned discrimination. It is wrong and should be overturned immediately.”


Bill de Blasio supports repealing the amendment. He tweeted: “The Hyde Amendment only hurts low revenue girls, especially females of color. In case you don’t support repeal, you shouldn’t be the Democratic nominee.”


Cory Booker supports repealing the amendment. He tweeted: “The Hyde Amendment is a threat to reproductive rights that punishes ladies and families who already struggle with access to adequate health care services.”


Steve Bullock supports repealing the amendment. In late May, he told a #RightsForAll ACLU volunteer that he would lift the Hyde Amendment if he was elected president.


Pete Buttigieg supports repealing the amendment, according to his website.


Julián Castro supports repealing the amendment. He tweeted: “All females should have access to reproductive care, without consideration of their revenue or the state they reside in. Abortion care is health care—it's time to repeal the #HydeAmendment.”


John Delaney hasn’t made any public comments about the Hyde Amendment, yet he told ThinkProgress in late April that he supports federal funding for abortion.


Tulsi Gabbard hasn’t made any public comments about the Hyde Amendment, although she told ThinkProgress in late April that she supports federal funding for abortion.


Kirsten Gillibrand supports repealing the act. “Repealing the Hyde Amendment is essential so that low-income ladies in particular can have access to the reproductive care they require and deserve,” she tweeted. “Reproductive rights are human rights, period. They should be non-negotiable for all Democrats.”


Mike Gravel supports repealing the act. In a statement made to MTV News, his spokesperson mentioned he "supports the immediate repeal of the Hyde Amendment and believes that Joe Biden should be ashamed of himself for supporting such a monstrous provision."


Kamala Harris supports repealing the amendment. She tweeted: “No woman’s access to reproductive health care should be based on how much cash she has. We must repeal the Hyde Amendment.”


John Hickenlooper supports repealing the amendment. He tweeted: “At a time whenever women's rights are under attack, we need to stand tall for our values. The #HydeAmendent actively harms girls by limiting access and choice. It needs to be repealed.”


Jay Inslee supports repealing the amendment. He tweeted: “I voted against the Hyde Amendment in 1993. It was wrong then plus it is wrong right now. Reproductive health care is health care. Period.”


Amy Klobuchar hasn’t mentioned anything publicly about repealing it, nevertheless is a co-sponsor of the EACH Woman Act, a bill that would repeal the amendment.


Wayne Messam hasn’t made any public comments about the Hyde Amendment, however he told ThinkProgress in late April that he supports federal funding for abortion.


Seth Moulton hasn’t mentioned anything publicly about repealing it, however is a co-sponsor of the EACH Woman Act, a bill that would repeal the amendment.


Beto O'Rourke supports repealing the amendment. In May, he tweeted “Repeal the Hyde Amendment” plus a video of a speech calling for more funding for family member planning centers like Proposed Parenthood.


Tim Ryan supports repealing the amendment. He told MSNBC in May, “we've got to get rid of the Hyde Amendment.”


Bernie Sanders supports repealing the amendment. “There is #NoMiddleGround on women’s rights,” he tweeted. “Abortion is a constitutional right. Under my Medicare for All plan, we plan to repeal the Hyde Amendment.”


Eric Swalwell supports repealing the amendment. He tweeted: “We can’t reside in the past as soon as it comes to women’s health. The next president must appoint judges who #ProtectRoe Nevertheless also MUST fight to #RepealHyde.” He also tagged Recommended Parenthood, and also NARAL, and its president, Ilyse Hogue.


Elizabeth Warren supports repealing the amendment. She told reporters immediately after a rally in Indiana, “This isn’t about politics, this is about what’s right. The Hyde Amendment should not be American law.”


Marianne Williamson hasn’t made any public comments about the Hyde Amendment, yet she told ThinkProgress in late April that she helps Women’s Health Protection Act and the EACH Woman Act, which would distribute federal funding for abortion.


Andrew Yang has not mentioned anything public about the Hyde Amendment and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MTV News.