Getting Rid Of This One Piece Of Legislation Could Transform Abortion Access. But, Will It Happen?

In 1976, House Republicans proposed the Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of federal funds from covering the cost of abortion care for poor and low-income people. At the time, Representative Henry Hyde (R-IL), the namesake of the amendment, did what Republicans have become infamous for: saying the quiet part out loud. During a House debate on the amendment, the lawmaker said, “I would certainly like to prevent, if I could legally, anybody having an abortion, a rich woman, a middle class woman, a poor woman. Unfortunately, the only vehicle available is the [Medicaid] bill.”