Why Repealing the Hyde Amendment Will Kill Black Lives

Dean Nelson / July 14, 2021

The Hyde Amendment is under attack. Before President Joe Biden even took office in January 2021, leading Democrats announced their plans to upset decades of bipartisan consensus and fight to repeal the Hyde Amendment.

As Biden pursues his policy agenda this year, activists and Democratic legislators have only sharpened their calls to action, decrying the Hyde Amendment as anti-choice and racist.

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., told reporters in March:

Let’s call this amendment what it is: It’s anti-choice and it’s blatantly racist. We know it disproportionately impacts low-income people and women of color. It should never have been signed into law and it’s way past time that it was repealed. The Hyde Amendment has been used by anti-choice politicians to keep abortion care out of the reach for people already marginalized by our health care system.