The current Democratic Party is much more extreme than in previous years, which is evident on a range of issues but especially on abortion. It is true that the party has always been the one of so-called abortion rights. But at times, there has been room, however minuscule, for some compromise at the national level. That is all but gone.
Last week, the House passed a bill that removed the long-standing Hyde Amendment from a spending package. Since the mid-1970s, the amendment restricting federal funds from being used for abortions has been included in legislation. This unwanted evolution is hardly surprising given President Joe Biden’s and Vice President Kamala Harris’s commitment to abortion extremism.
The president publicly supported Hyde as recently as June 2019. The catalyst for change was his candidacy for president and the growing pressure from liberals in the Democratic Party. During a debate two years ago, then-Sen. Harris confronted Biden over his support of Hyde. Quickly, he backtracked, and only because of his presidential aspirations. This is true cowardice.
The leftist media portrays a majority as wholly supportive not just of abortion but also its federal funding. This could not be further from the truth. Abortion is a polarizing topic in the discourse, but wide support for unrestricted, government-funded abortion simply does not exist. That narrative is driven by those who wish to see it become reality. A sharp divide between pro-life and pro-choice people has existed for decades. According to the Pew Research Center, the gap has widened between parties with more Democrats than ever favoring “legal abortion in all or most cases.”
The same month that then-candidate Biden reaffirmed his support for Hyde before reversing his stance, Slate published an article titled “Abortion Funding Isn’t As Popular As Democrats Think.” In it, the case is made, with polling to back it up, that while plenty support abortion, the same cannot be said for federal funding of abortion. The author said as much, stating, “On the core question of the abortion debate, most Americans agree with the Democratic Party … But on the question of direct payments, most voters agree with the GOP. If Democrats make that question a litmus test, they’ll regret it.” A January 2021 Knights of Columbus/Marist poll indicates that 58% of people oppose taxpayer-funded abortions, 38% support them, and 4% of those polled are unsure.
Some members of the Democratic Party treat the Hyde Amendment as an affront to women and their reproductive rights. But the amendment doesn’t ban or restrict abortion or push religion in any way. It simply keeps federal funds from going to pay for the life-ending procedure. When it was introduced, the amendment was a compromise for both sides in the abortion debate. Removing the amendment from spending bills is a forceful move designed to look as though it is a reflection of the country. Instead, it’s a move to the far left of both abortion politics and the Democratic Party.
The move to kill Hyde once the bill is in the Senate may not be successful this time around. But this is the ultimate goal of Democrats in Congress. Federal funding of abortion is an insult to the millions of taxpayers, Democrat and Republican, who oppose such a move. Most of all, it represents a horrendous governmental overreach into wombs.
Roe v. Wade changed the fabric of society in 1973 for the worse. The Hyde Amendment has been a small but important bulwark against it for decades. It must be protected in a bipartisan fashion.
Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a columnist at Arc Digital.
