Repeal the Hyde Amendment
Repeal Hyde
By Mary Grace Farley
The “Repeal Hyde” Action Group supports adoption of Medicare for All with all abortions included and funded as the essential medical service it is. We work proactively, aggressively and creatively in coalition to repeal the oppressive, 1976 backlash legislation known as the [Hyde Amendment http://www.aclu.org/reproductive-freedom/public-funding-abortion], which forbade the use of federal funds to pay for abortions for the poorest of the poor women in America—those on Medicaid.
For 33 years, women on Medicaid in need of abortion have had to choose between rent and food for their families or paying for an abortion, have had illegal, cheaper abortions or delayed abortion trying to get the money together–at great risk to their health. They have been forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term by poverty and the refusal of the U.S. government to fulfill its mandate to provide comprehensive health care to Medicaid recipients. Why? Because opponents of abortion rights, unable to overturn Roe v. Wade, chose to impose their will on women dependent on public funds for their health care. Congress also denies abortion coverage to military personnel and their families, residents of the District of Columbia, women in the Peace Corps, women receiving care from Indian Health Services, women on disability insurance and women in federal prisons.
The misogynist Hyde Amendment is a blot on the conscience of this country as ugly as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and as untenable as 45,000 U.S. deaths yearly from lack of health care. Hyde’s oppression and endangerment of women for political gain has been tolerated far too long.
As proponents of a single-payer “Medicare for All” system, we are determined to repeal the Hyde Amendment, used to segregate abortion from every other health care service, to ensure that when we achieve this system, the result will be “Everybody In” not “Everywoman Out”! Immediate action is necessary to ensure that Congress—and the movement—is not faced with choosing between Medicare for All and abortion rights. For too long, anti-choice forces have dominated through large-scale organization, domestic terrorism and disregard for the boundaries between church and state. It’s time to change the game—shameless, creative, proactive pro-choice action in coalition and solidarity with all progressive allies is our strategy. Join us today!
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