One of the prime targets of pro-abortion Democrats on Capitol Hill this year is the Hyde Amendment.
First adopted in 1976 and named after its sponsor, Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), the amendment prohibits federal tax dollars from funding abortions through Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
The Hyde Amendment bans federal funding for abortion in these federally funded healthcare programs in all cases except in cases of rape, incest, or where a physician certifies that the pregnancy places the mother’s life in danger.
As PRI reported in March, the Hyde Amendment has always been passed without serious opposition or controversy.
“For many Americans, abortion is murder,” PRI wrote. “Many Americans have deeply held moral or religious reasons for opposing abortion. They believe strongly that paying for abortion through their tax dollars compels them to act against their deeply held beliefs by funding activities with their own money that they find gravely immoral and evil.”
That’s all true, but today the abortion lobby is one of the most single-minded and well-funded political forces in Washington. They are so powerful that last year Joe Biden was forced to abandon his support of the Hyde Amendment—after he had supported it for over forty years!
Nonetheless, today a sizable majority of Americans still oppose using taxpayer funds to pay for abortions, at home or abroad.
Enter Joe Manchin
As Congress moves on fundamental legislation this summer, Senator Joe Manchin, a member of the Democrat majority, has come to the fore as a key to the success or failure of the pro-abortion forces on Capitol Hill.
Manchin describes himself as a “moderate conservative.” He is pro-life, he’s Catholic, and he’s from the increasingly conservative state of West Virginia.
Manchin has already emerged as a bête noir roundly condemned by the Left. His sin? His alleged “sabotage” of the Democrats’ agenda – an agenda that could change the country even more profoundly than the attacks of 9/11 did twenty years ago.
On June 6, in an op-ed written for the Charleston Gazette-Mail, Manchin confirmed that he would not support the Democrats’ “For the People” Act. “This more than 800-page bill has garnered zero Republican support,” he wrote. “Why? … The truth, I would argue, is that voting and election reform that is done in a partisan manner will all but ensure partisan divisions continue to deepen.”
“With that in mind,” he continued, “some Democrats have again proposed eliminating the Senate filibuster rule in order to pass the “For the People” Act with only Democratic support. They’ve attempted to demonize the filibuster and conveniently ignore how it has been critical to protecting the rights of Democrats in the past…. I believe that partisan voting legislation will destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy, and for that reason, I will vote against the For the People Act. Furthermore, I will not vote to weaken or eliminate the filibuster.”
That statement amounted to a double-barrel direct hit on the Democrats’ radical pro-abortion priorities for 2021.
The same day, Manchin invoked the Founding Fathers when he explained his position on the filibuster. The Senate is “supposed to be a deliberate body to cool things off that come from the House,” he told a clearly disappointed interviewer. “That’s what we’re doing. We’re looking every way we can to bring this country together and unite the country…. And I’ve always been about bipartisanship.”
Manchin’s position had been the subject of conjecture for months. His choice of his hometown newspaper to announce his decision serves as a reminder to his Senate colleagues that ultimately, they work for the folks back home. As long-time House Speaker Sam Rayburn once quipped, “You gotta dance with them what brung ya.”
The Way Forward: Will Manchin Stay the Course?
Related Stories: North Dakota and Kansas pave the way for Pro-life Legislation – PRI (www.pop.org)
Thus far, Manchin has stayed strong in his support of the Hyde Amendment.
“I’m going to support Hyde in every way possible,” he told Bloomberg news on June 10.
But Capitol Hill’s pro-death forces are using unprecedented pressure to change his mind —or at least his vote.
And who can blame them? With Manchin on their side, Democrats could pass their entire radical agenda. The “For the People” Act would eviscerate state election laws coast to coast and put Washington in permanent charge of elections. The “Equality Act” would destroy religious liberty and drive the Christians into the catacombs. Eliminating the filibuster would eradicate bipartisanship and allow a rash and far-reaching campaign of destruction to be passed by a Senate that is as divided as our country is.
And that’s not all. Pro-abortion forces have even more radical legislation in the pipeline. Catholic Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16), who succeeded pro-abortion Catholic Rep. Beto O’Rourke in Congress two years ago, has quickly risen to seize a leading role in the pro-abortion Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC). Escobar is a leading sponsor of the “Women’s Health Protection Act,” a statute that would go far beyond Roe v. Wade, nullifying virtually every state law in the country that limits abortion in any way.
Pro-abortion forces are grim and determined, but pro-life forces are fighting back. In the House, Republicans have been hard at work advocating legislation that expands protection of the unborn. When Biden’s budget for FY 2022 eliminated the Hyde Amendment, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy said, “By putting Hyde on the chopping block, the message [Democrats] are sending is clear and chilling…. the radical demands of the socialist left drown out common sense, science and the views of most Americans. That the party of ‘safe, legal and rare’ is now the party of abortion on demand.”
To bolster legal protections of the unborn, House Republicans have been advocating passage of HR 18, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act. The legislation would codify into law the prohibition on using federal dollars for most abortions.
House Republicans have repeatedly demanded a vote on the measure, putting several House Democrats on the spot. Speaker Pelosi afraid that the measure would pass and blow up her pro-abortion agenda in her face, has repeatedly refused to allow a vote on the bill.
Take Time to Say “Thanks — And Stay Strong!”
Related Stories: Reproductive Health Mortality – PRI (www.pop.org)
On Capitol Hill, Senators get a lot of flak for what they do wrong, but not much gratitude for what they do right.
This is a critical time in our nation. Radical forces want to make the United States the most pro-abortion country in the world. They plan to remake America by destroying it first.
Right now, they consider Joe Manchin to be the linchpin in their strategy, and the pressure is immense.
Every pro-lifer should be contacting everyone they know in West Virginia and telling them to call Joe Manchin’s local office — the one closest to their home — and thank him for being strong on the life issues, on the filibuster, and on the Hyde Amendment.
And don’t stop praying!
