New bill would close loopholes in taxpayer funding for abortions

Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has introduced a bill banning health care exchanges from including coverage for "gender-transition procedures" for minors or for abortions in the majority of circumstances.

Key Takeaways:

• Hawley introduced the the Prohibiting Abortion & Transgender Procedures on the Exchanges Act on October 15th.

• The bill would ban health care exchanges from including coverage for abortions (apart from certain 'exceptions'), or for minors' "gender-transition procedures" or related drugs.

• Additionally, it would place language from the Hyde Amendment directly into the federal coverage terms of health plans.

• This would ban Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges from providing any coverage for abortion, except in cases of rape or incest, or if the mother’s life is at risk. 

The Details:

Hawley announced the new legislation in a press release, stating:

The Prohibiting Abortion & Transgender Procedures on the Exchanges Act would:

• Write Hyde language directly into the federal coverage terms of health plans, and prohibit Exchanges from offering any health plans that provide coverage of abortion, except for in cases of rape or incest, or if the mother’s life is at risk. 

• Prohibit Exchanges from offering any health plans that provide coverage of gender transition procedures or drugs for minor children.

The "gender-transition procedures" mentioned in the bill include so-called puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and elective transgender-related surgeries.

The Hyde Amendment bars any federal funding from being used on abortion, but many ACA exchanges still include abortion coverage, often through state-level loopholes. Hawley's bill aims to close these loopholes, and ensure abortion does not receive any federal funding.

Jamie Dangers, director of federal affairs at Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, applauded the bill.

This bill would do what should have been done 15 years ago by applying the Hyde Amendment to Obamacare so that health care plans don’t pay for elective abortions with taxpayer dollars.

Until a bill like this becomes law, however, Republicans must make Hyde protections nonnegotiable in any funding for Obamacare, which currently uses taxpayer dollars to fund abortion on demand.

Do Taxes Pay for Abortions?

"For too long, federal programs have quietly bypassed the Hyde Amendment through administrative ambiguity. This legislation draws a bright line. No taxpayer dollars, direct or indirect, should ever fund the destruction of human life. It’s common sense governance and moral consistency,” said Mark Wiltz, Director of Government Affairs for Live Action.

Why It Matters:

The Hyde Amendment is a pro-life rider created in 1976 included in every appropriations act since then; it prevents federal dollars from funding most abortions in the United States, and has been credited with saving millions of lives from abortion.

Under the Biden administration, taxpayer funding for abortion was expanded under an executive order. This included waivers, and ruling that transportation or ancillary services related to abortion — meaning things like travel related to abortion without paying for the abortion itself — did not violate Hyde. The Trump administration has since rescinded that order, saying it would be putting a stop to such abuses:

[F]or nearly five decades, Congress has enacted the Hyde Amendment and a series of additional laws to protect taxpayers from being forced to pay for abortion. Contrary to this longstanding commonsense policy, the previous administration embedded federal funding of elective abortion in a wide variety of government programs.

Yet while Hyde prevents federal tax dollars from funding abortions, state funds can be used however those legislators choose, meaning taxpayer-funded abortion on the state level is legal, and has been increasing in recent years.

The Bottom Line:

It is long past time for Americans to stop being forced to fund abortions and transgender procedures they don't support. Loopholes allowing for Hyde to be abused need to end.