A Hyde amendment on abortion remains in the spending bill as 2020 candidates take it to them: NPR

In the 2020 Election Campaign, Democrats Highlight Their Support for Expanding Right to Abortion, But in Washington, House Democrats Are Preparing to Keep a Ban on Most Federal Grants for Abortion .

The presidential candidates, from Senator Elizabeth Warren to former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris, have all denounced the funding restrictions under what is known as the "President". Hyde's amendment. Harris said that it targeted poor women who depend on benefits from the federal health system, Warren said that she "would lead the fight to have him overthrown" and Biden now says that supporting Hyde violates his belief that health care is a human right.

But these Democrats, as well as most Democrats who sat in Congress since this provision was regularly tied to spending, have always voted for spending that includes the Hyde Amendment.

The House is expected to vote Thursday on a bill that would extend the ban for at least a year. This creates additional tension for more than a dozen Democrats who are separating to campaign for the nomination of their party and legislate in a politically divided Washington.

Hyde's Amendment

Named in the honor of its author, Henry Hyde, a Republican Congressman from Illinois, the 1976 vote was a response to the Roe v. Wade, a landmark decision of the Supreme Court legalizing abortion, which had been decided three years earlier.

At the time, Democrats had a large majority in the House. More than 100 Democrats voted in favor of the amendment at a full vote, bringing more than half of the support needed to add to the Labor and Health Bill. this year.

Since then, it has been integrated into the annual expenditure bills. This year, it is part of an extensive program that funds the Ministries of Labor and Health and Social Services, as well as the Ministries of Defense, Energy and the State.

Democratic leaders blame split government

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Is one of many advocates of the right to abortion in Congress who have resigned themselves to supporting spending bills that include Hyde restrictions.

"I do not think it's good public policy, and I wish I'd never have a Hyde amendment, but that's the law of the land right now," Pelosi told an audience this week at of an event sponsored by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. "I do not see the opportunity to get rid of it with the current occupant of the White House and some members of the US Senate."

The health component of the first major House Democrats Spending Bill is charged with several key democratic priorities, including over $ 2 billion for Alzheimer's disease research and over $ 3 billion dollars. for the fight against AIDS.

That's why leaders have hindered the efforts of the first female student, Democratic Representative of Massachusetts, Ayanna Pressley, to subtract Hyde's amendment from this year's funding bill.

Progressive House caucus co-chair, Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., Told reporters this week that she would like Hyde not to exist. She explained that the party is now overwhelmingly in favor of the right to abortion and that most MPs would prefer to get rid of Hyde, but the spending bills required bipartisan support to prevent a new government closure. .

"You know, we are where we are," Jayapal said. "People do not want to include this in a supply bill that must be submitted to a Republican Senate and be signed by a Republican President."

The view of the countryside

Congressional Democrats recognize that presidential candidates must take a stand. Biden was recently forced to rule against Hyde after abortion rights supporters – and other Democratic candidates – attacked the former vice president for publicly supporting him. prohibition.

The Speaker of the Democratic House Caucus, Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Said that a number of presidential candidates were in the same situation as Biden.

"I believe every presidential candidate who has sat in the House or Senate – every one of them – voted for a supply bill containing the Hyde amendment," Jeffries said at a meeting. A press conference.

The list includes Harris, Biden, Warren and nearly a dozen other candidates.

But not all candidates accept this framing. In an interview this week with NPR's political podcastHarris said supporting spending bills was not the same as supporting Hyde.

"Let 's be clear, I did not vote for the Hyde amendment," Harris said. "The Hyde Amendment is the law, so it has been associated with other funding bills, until we repeal it, which I am in favor of, will be appended to the federal government's funding bills.