ICYMI: Appropriations Committee Republicans Pushed Back on Democrats’ Radical Abortion Views

Appropriations Committee Republicans pushed back on the Democrats’ radical abortion views during a Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee hearing yesterday. Instead of finalizing full-year appropriations bills, the majority party is focused on debating a longstanding, bipartisan policy that polls have shown the majority of Americans support.
  
Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee Chair and the Democrats’ soon-to-be Appropriations Chair, Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), made it clear that her number one priority next Congress is to repeal the Hyde Amendment – the decades-old, bipartisan provision preventing federal funds from being used for abortions.
 
In a statement for the record, Lead Republican on the Committee Kay Granger (R-TX) urged that the Committee focus on policies that lift women up, while protecting the moral and religious beliefs of millions of Americans: “I do agree with you, Chair DeLauro, and many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that we can and we must do more to support women facing an unplanned pregnancy. However, the answer is not abortion – especially one that is funded by taxpayers.”
 
Granger continued by stating, “We must commit to ensuring that these women have access to child care, education, job training, and other support so that they and their children can thrive.” See Granger’s full remarks here.
 
Full Committee Vice Ranking Member and LHHS Subcommittee Ranking Member Tom Cole (R-OK) noted the impact of the Hyde Amendment: “It is estimated that this provision has saved the lives of over two million people since it was first adopted in 1976, most of them people of color.”
  
Cole also highlighted states-rights in regards to the amendment: “Rescinding the Hyde Amendment would impose a pro-abortion funding policy on states that have decided against it. Without the amendment, abortion would likely become just another basic service that all states must fund as a requirement to participate in the Medicaid program.”

Both Congressman Andy Harris (R-MD) and Congressman John Moolenaar (R-MI) focused witness questions on the mental and physical risks to women’s health caused by abortion.

Harris also entered into the record a National Review article, which noted statistical flaws in a recent study that purported to show that few women regret their decision to get an abortion.

Congresswoman Jamie Herrera Beutler (R-WA) pushed back on the Democrats’ claim that the provision is racist: “The reality is the Hyde Amendment is one of the things that roots out systemic racism in this area.”
 
As the Committee finishes its work for fiscal year 2021 and moves into the 117th Congress, House Republicans will continue to fight for the unborn and ensure the Hyde Amendment remains law.   
 
Watch the full hearing here.