Congressmen, Do Not Renew the Hyde Amendment in the Health and Human Services 2017 Budget!

The Hyde Amendment, first adopted in 1976, and renewed each year in the federal budget, is a legislative provision barring the use of certain federal and private insurance funds, including Medicaid, to pay for abortions. Exceptions only include saving the life of the mother, or if the pregnancy arises from incest or rape. When federal coverage provides for all pregnancy-related health care, except abortion, it interferes with private health decisions. In the Supreme Court case, Roe v. Wade, the Court specifically stated that the government had no role in individuals' private decisions (under the Fourth Amendment), which includes abortion. The Hyde Amendment makes abortion nearly inaccessible for millions of low-income women, therefore denying them the right to make these constitutionally protected decisions.