Hyde Amendment Marks Half a Century of Federal Funding Restrictions on Abortions
The Hyde Amendment, added to a 1970s appropriations bill by Rep. Henry Hyde, continues to bar federal Medicaid funds from covering elective abortions.
In September 1973, Rep. Henry Hyde added a provision to an annual health and education appropriations bill that barred federal Medicaid money from being used for elective abortions, a measure later known as the Hyde Amendment. The clause was intended to protect taxpayers who oppose abortion from being compelled to fund the procedure. Although pro-choice groups have repeatedly sued and sought to repeal it, the amendment survived and was affirmed by the Supreme Court in the 1980 case Harris v. McRae.
Research compiled by the Guttmacher Institute indicates that the funding restriction is linked to a measurable drop in abortion numbers. Advocates estimate that the policy has averted millions of abortions that would otherwise have been covered by federal funds. Hyde, a devout Catholic, viewed the amendment as a moral duty and his legacy is cited by some as influencing the later Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.
