The Hyde Amendment: An Attack on Reproductive Rights of the Poor

Vox Reports: How the US keeps poor people from accessing abortion

For almost 50 years, every Congress and president have approved a federal budget that includes a band on federal funding for abortion services (except in extreme cases). This is known as the Hyde Amendment.

Today, abortion access largely depends on the politics of the state you live in. Because of the Hyde Amendment, it also depends on how much money you have. Banning federal funding for abortion services primarily affects people who rely on Medicaid for their health care: people who are living close to the poverty line in the US or are disabled. This has the effect of preventing some of the country’s most vulnerable people from accessing abortion services, since they are the least likely to be able to afford an out-of-pocket expense.

Access to abortion should not depend on your financial status. When forced to have an unwanted pregnancy, people are more likely to fall into poverty and debt. We need to stop the Hyde Amendment in its tracks.

To learn more about the discriminatory rules outlined in the Hyde Amendment, watch this video from Vox.