Republicans Oppose Tax-funded Abortion

  200 House Republicans Declare ‘Unified Opposition’ to Tax-Funded Abortion - Christian Headlines

A coalition of 200 House Republicans on Tuesday signed a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Congressional leaders declaring they won’t support any budget bill that allows for taxpayer funding of abortion.

At issue is the Hyde Amendment, a legislative provision dating to the 1970s that prohibits federal funds from being used for abortions. It originally passed a Democratic-controlled House and Senate just a few years after Roe v. Wade and has been supported by every Republican and Democratic president since then, including Presidents Carter, Clinton and Obama. President Biden, though, opposed it during the campaign, and Pelosi and other Democratic leaders have said they hope to reverse it. 

The amendment must be reauthorized annually. The current version allows for exceptions for rape, incest and to save the mother’s life. “The Hyde Amendment alone has saved the lives of over 2 million innocent babies and continues to protect the conscience rights of a vast majority of Americans opposed to publicly funded abortions,” the letter, signed by 200 GOP members, says. It was sent to Pelosi and leaders of both parties, although Pelosi has been the most vocal in opposition to the amendment. 

“We cannot allow the Hyde Amendment and other important pro-life safeguards to be decimated by Congressional Democrats,” the letter says. “Accordingly, we pledge to vote against any government funding bill that eliminates or weakens the Hyde Amendment or other current-law, pro-life appropriations provisions.”