Hyde Amendment

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The Hyde Amendment is the abbreviation for an American federal regulation which , with a few exceptions, prohibits the provision of state funds for abortion . The regulation was named by its author, Congressman Henry Hyde , and was first in 1976 and since then every year in the form of an addition ( english amendment ) to the annual law on federal spending ( Appropriations Bill introduced). Except in cases in which the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest or endangered the life of the pregnant woman, no funds from the federal Medicaid program may be used.

Prior to the passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , the Obama administration's comprehensive health care reform , Congressmen Bart Stupak (Democrat) and Joseph R. Pitts (Republican) sought to give this law an extension that would allow the Hyde Amendment to be wording for would have codified this new health law because Stupak feared (arguably wrongly) that the health reform would suspend the provisions of the Hyde Amendment . After violent protests, this amendment, which was named the Stupak-Pitts Amendment after its authors and passed by the House of Representatives , was not included in the final bill, which was voted by the Senate . Instead, the initiators received Obama's promise to issue an executive order , in which he excludes the use of federal funds for abortions as before. With Executive Order 13535 of March 21, 2010, Obama fulfilled this promise.

States that allow abortion grants; dark blue: state decision; light blue: court order

In 17 states (as of 2016) there is an expansion of the state Medicaid program, which allows state financial aid for abortion. In contrast, South Dakota (as of 2016) prohibits the use of state funds - contrary to the federal framework legislation - even in cases of rape and incest.

The regulation was discussed controversially in the 2016 US presidential election . Hillary Clinton , the Democratic candidate, campaigned for the abolition of the Hyde Amendment in her election manifesto, supported by women's rights organizations such as EMILY's List and Planned Parenthood , which therefore made an election recommendation for her for the first time in January 2016. Her Catholic running mate Tim Kaine , who is personally against abortion for religious reasons but is politically committed to the right to vote for pregnant women ( Pro-Choice ), declared during the election campaign in July 2016 that he was against abolition. At the beginning of August 2016, he vacated his position and declared that he generally supported Clinton's political program.

Joe Biden , Vice President Barack Obamas , is a Catholic Democrat who takes the same position as Kaine on abortion and, as a longtime US Senator, has always supported the Hyde Amendment. His position was attacked in June 2019 because as a survey leading his party in its presidential preselection for 2020 reiterated its support for the Hyde Amendment. His position differed from that of most of his intra-party competitors, the Democratic National Committee and the majority of Democrats in the United States House of Representatives who campaigned for overturning, and drew outrage from women's rights groups. Biden then changed his position and justified his following support for federal funds for abortion against the Hyde Amendment with the changed circumstances, including the tightening of abortion bans in some Republican-dominated states.

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Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A typical formulation of the legal addition can be found in the Hyde Amendment for 2014, see Hyde Amendment Codification Act: 113th Congress (2013–2014). In: Congress.gov , January 24, 2013 (English).
  2. ↑ Timothy Noah: Why Stupak Is Wrong: The Senate bill doesn't fund abortions. Here's why he thinks it does. In: Slate , March 4, 2010 (English).
  3. ^ State Funding of Abortions Under Medicaid. In: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (English).
  4. ↑ Abortion Access: Hyde Amendment. In: Planned Parenthood .
  5. ↑ Christina Cauterucci: Why Hillary Clinton's Call-Out of the Hyde Amendment Is So Important. In: Slate , January 11, 2016 (English).
  6. ↑ Ruby Mellen: Kaine breaks with Clinton on abortion provision. In: CNN , August 1, 2016 (English).
  7. ^ John McCormack: Kaine Dodges Question about Repealing Hyde Amendment. In: The Weekly Standard , August 4, 2016 (English).
  8. ↑ Jessie Hellmann: Biden infuriates abortion rights groups with Hyde stance. In: The Hill , June 5, 2019.
  9. ^ Bill Barrow: In reversal, Biden opposes ban on federal money for abortion. In: Associated Press , June 7, 2019.