Know the Truth – Take Action – Make a Difference!

When the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) was introduced in 2009, it passed both chambers of Congress without a single Republican vote. But beyond the partisan divide, something even more troubling was quietly embedded in the law: a lack of safeguards against taxpayer funding of abortion.

Since 1976, the Hyde Amendment, a provision contained in the annual Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) appropriations bill, has prevented the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from paying for elective abortions in its programs.

Hyde established a simple, commonsense principle that a majority of Americans still support today: no taxpayer should be forced to fund a deeply divisive and morally repugnant activity like abortion.

However, Obamacare was designed to bypass Hyde. It does this by directly appropriating taxpayer funds for healthcare plans. As a result, there are no safeguards preventing Obamacare from funding plans that cover abortions.

And during the COVID pandemic, the Biden administration and its allies dramatically expanded Obamacare subsidies, further allowing taxpayer dollars to flow toward plans that include abortion coverage.

Now, as lawmakers begin negotiating new approaches to healthcare coverage, President Trump has called for conservatives to be "flexible" on the Hyde Amendment.

As far as I'm concerned, the only flexibility needed is for the government to allow taxpayers to get out of the abortion business.

Because once an exception is made -- once the principle is surrendered -- there is no going back. History shows us that when moral lines are blurred, they are rarely redrawn. What happens once will happen again until the exception becomes the rule.

This is not simply another policy debate. It is a test of whether our nation will continue to affirm the inherent dignity of every human life -- and whether believers will remain faithful when the pressure to compromise grows intense.

The Family Research Council has developed a new educational resource dedicated specifically to the Hyde Amendment entitled: 50 Years of the Hyde Amendment: The American People's Line in the Sand.

This clear, accessible resource is designed to equip lawmakers and concerned citizens with a firm understanding of the history and importance of the Hyde Amendment and why its annual renewal is essential to protecting both the preborn and the conscience rights of taxpayers. In fact, a clear majority of Americans—57%—still oppose being compelled to fund abortions.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill need to hear—clearly and consistently—that being "flexible" on Hyde would be an enormous, misguided step, and that compromising on the issue of taxpayer-funded abortion is unacceptable.

As Scripture reminds us, "Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter" (Proverbs 24:11 ESV).

Thankfully, there are still bold men and women on Capitol Hill willing to stand for the preborn. Recently, I was on a Zoom call with Senator Bernie Moreno, where he assured the 15 or so other prolife leaders in Ohio that he would not allow taxpayer-funded abortion, period. I trust Senator Moreno completely. It is the three or four prochoice Republican Senators that I am concerned about, and our own Senator Jon Husted, who has made no such promise. Will they give in under the enormous pressure by the Democrats and the Trump administration to compromise and make a deal, sacrificing the Hyde Amendment?

With your engagement, we will continue to stand for the most defenseless among us—confident that truth, spoken in love, still has the power to change hearts and shape the future. Contact Your Ohio Senators Today!

(Ed Sitter slightly modified the above content of an email from Tony Perkins, President of Family Research Council.)