Repeal of the Hyde Amendment — the primary limitation on federal funding of abortion — would cost the lives of 60,000 unborn children every year.

Many, if not most, will be nonwhite babies. For all the disputes over abortion data, this fact is not subject to serious disagreement. The proof is compelling, supported by arguments and statistics advanced by both sides of the debate. The difference between the two sides of the debate is that one believes poor women benefit from being relieved of the undue burden of bearing unexpected children, whereas the other believes the loss of those babies’ lives is a personal and national tragedy.