Ellington

House Democrats successfully pushed an HHS spending bill through the Appropriations Committee that excludes decades-old Hyde Amendment restrictions on using federal funding for abortions, but the Hyde language is expected to be reinserted by the Senate.

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“We will continue to increase equal health care for women, even as the Supreme Court ruling tries to take control of women’s health care decisions,” Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) said, referencing the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The Hyde Amendment first took effect in 1980. The current version of the rule forbids federal funds from being used to pay for abortions except in the cases of rape or incest or when the pregnant person’s life is in danger. This year’s bill also does not include the Weldon Amendment, which allows health professionals, health care organizations, and insurance plans to refuse to provide or pay for abortions because of their religious beliefs; it also allows individuals to file a complaint with the federal government if they feel they have been discriminated against due to that decision.

While Republicans also raised other objections to the HHS spending bill, they made clear the measure would not receive any Republican votes without the inclusion of the Hyde and Weldon amendments. Committee chair Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) introduced an amendment reintroducing the language that was co-sponsored by every Republican member of the committee.

Cole added that the spending bill is not likely to pass the Senate, where it would need a filibuster-proof majority, without the amendments included. “These protections need to be reinstated for this bill to move forward,” he said.

Other Republicans argued the Hyde amendment defers to the population of Americans with religious and moral objections to abortion by not using tax dollars to contribute to the procedure.

“We don’t have the right to take taxpayer dollars to use it to end life,” Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) said.

The two parties debated the impact of the Hyde amendment, with Republicans saying it has resulted in the birth of about 2 million additional children, while Democrats said the amendment harms low-income women by requiring them to spend money they can’t afford to privately pay for an abortion.

“The radical supermajority’s decision on the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade was not about protecting life, it was all about stripping power, control and dignity from women, and that has been the impact of the Hyde Amendment for decades,” DeLauro said.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) noted that the amendment disproportionately impacts women of color, who are more likely to receive public insurance. Lee said the amendment’s original sponsor, former Illinois GOP representative Henry Hyde, wanted to ban abortion for everyone, “but he couldn’t, so he stopped with Black and brown women.”

The debate grew charged enough that a recess was called when Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) objected to a comment from Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ). Watson Coleman referred to a remark from Harris, in which he called Democrats hypocritical for referencing support of bodily autonomy because they had supported a vaccine mandate for members of the military, as “absurd.”

In a heated back-and-forth, Harris said Watson Coleman had violated congressional rules against personal attacks. After a recess, DeLauro determined that she had not, and the hearing resumed.

Cole’s amendment was ultimately rejected on a vote of 26-31.

Abortion advocacy groups have celebrated the introduction of an appropriations bill without the Hyde Amendment.

Lee also introduced an amendment calling on HHS “to use every tool at its disposal to ensure that medication abortion is accessible, affordable, covered and convenient for patients including through access to telehealth.” The amendment was approved by a voice vote.

Another amendment responding to the Dobbs decision was introduced by Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA); it authorizes $5 million in grant funding to provide security at health care centers for facilities, patients, and personnel and was also approved with a voice vote.

The final Labor, HHS, Education spending bill passed by a vote of 32-24. -- Jessica Karins (jkarins@iwpnews.com)

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