Indiana Right to Life recently joined 88 pro-life organizations calling for Congress to include Hyde amendment protections with any changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to protect taxpayers from being forced to pay for abortions. Co-signing groups include Susan B. Anthony List, AAPLOG, Family Research Council, National Right to Life, March for Life Action, and more.
The letter notes:
“For over 40 years, the Hyde amendment has protected taxpayers from being forced to pay for abortion and for health insurance plans that include coverage of abortion. The enactment of the ACA in 2010 ruptured that longstanding policy by codifying the largest-ever departure from the Hyde amendment and the largest legislative expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade. Among other objectionable provisions, the ACA authorized massive federal subsidies to assist millions of Americans with purchasing health insurance plans that include abortion. Democrats wrote the ACA craftily to avoid the Hyde amendment by self-appropriating its funds rather than subjecting it to the annual appropriations process to which Hyde applies. Instead of stopping funding for health insurance plans that cover elective abortion in a consistent manner with Hyde, the ACA expressly permits subsidies for health insurance plans that cover elective abortion. Abortion coverage through these plans is funded using premium tax credits (PTCs) as well as cost-sharing reduction payments (CSRs) that reduce out-of-pocket costs for subsidized enrollees.”
Read the full letter here.