The so-called “American Rescue Plan” opens a startling new chapter in Congress’s debate over what has been all but settled law for four decades: the federal government’s long-standing policy of not using taxpayer funds to pay for or promote abortion on demand. The late Rep. Henry J. Hyde, author of the primary provision affecting the Medicaid program, spoke for dozens of members in both political parties when he proposed an abortion funding ban in 1976. The amendment and variations affecting nearly two dozen other federal agencies have been enacted under presidents of both parties nearly every year since.

While the amendment is about the conscience concerns of the majority of taxpayers who oppose abortion funding, it is about much more than that. It has been a matter of life and death for millions. A detailed analysis of the impact of the Hyde Amendment by the Charlotte Lozier Institute demonstrates more than 2,400,000 of our fellow Americans would not be among us without this amendment. If any fact should be unifying about a public policy enactment, this one alone should be. The Hyde Amendment saves lives. Repealing it will claim 60,000 more victims every year.