It’s Time to Stand Up for The Hyde Amendment Christopher Manion One of the prime targets of pro-abortion Democrats on Capitol Hill this year is the Hyde Amendment. First adopted in 1976 and named after its sponsor, Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), the amendment prohibits federal tax dollars from funding abortions through Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The Hyde Amendment bans federal funding for abortion in these federally funded healthcare programs in all cases except in cases of rape, incest, or where a physician certifies that the pregnancy places the mother’s life in danger. As PRI reported in March, the Hyde Amendment has always been passed without serious opposition or controversy. “For many Americans, abortion is murder,” PRI wrote. “Many Americans have deeply held moral or religious reasons for opposing abortion. They believe strongly that paying for abortion through their tax dollars compels them to act against their deeply held beliefs by funding activities with their own money that they find gravely immoral and evil.” That’s all true, but today the abortion lobby is one of the most single-minded and well-funded political forces in Washington. They are so powerful that last year Joe Biden was forced to abandon his support of the Hyde Amendment—after he had supported it for over forty years! Nonetheless, today a sizable majority of Americans still oppose using taxpayer funds to pay for abortions, at home or abroad. Enter Joe Manchin As Congress moves on fundamental legislation this summer, Senator Joe Manchin, a member of the Democrat majority, has come to the fore as a key to the success or failure of the pro-abortion forces on Capitol Hill. Continue reading | 
