Once again, the Democratic Party tried to veer to the far left on abortion. It didn’t work.
While most congressional Democrats wanted to pass a spending bill last year that excluded the Hyde Amendment, that won’t happen. The omnibus spending legislation unveiled by Senate appropriators on Wednesday this week included the Hyde Amendment, which prevents federal funding from paying for elective abortions.
It’s a win for the unborn and a reminder of just how extreme many Democrats are on abortion. Virtually every Democrat in Congress thinks that tax dollars should fund elective abortion. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas deserve credit for being the two outliers.
The public funding of abortion is not something that people want. Fifty-eight percent said they don’t support the federal funding of abortion, according to a 2021 Marist poll. While a majority of people think abortion should be legal in the first trimester, many also understand that it’s wrong to force people who view abortion as murder from involuntarily funding it.
If repealed, the Hyde Amendment would result in more unborn babies being killed in the womb. The provision may prevent 60,000 unborn babies from being killed in abortions each year.
Unfortunately, this is not the only place where Democrats are extreme on abortion.
Many don’t support a gestational limit on abortion, meaning they’re OK with elective abortion in the third trimester. That’s the case even though 80% oppose third-trimester abortions, according to a 2021 Associated Press-NORC poll. Remember, babies can survive outside of the womb as early as 21 weeks.
This is the same party that refuses to ban the repugnant practice of sex-selective abortion.
When it comes to protecting a baby born alive following an attempted abortion, pro-choice Democrats are just as extreme. While 77% support born-alive protections, according to a February 2019 Susan B. Anthony List poll, many congressional Democrats don’t.
In Massachusetts, for example, they passed the ROE Act in December 2020 — crafted by now-U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin. One of its provisions eliminated language from Bay State law that offered protections for babies born alive altogether. Most Democrats in the Massachusetts legislature supported it. The bill also eliminated parental consent for 16- and 17-year-old minors seeking an abortion, something that even a majority of pro-choice voters support, according to Gallup.
And other Democrats have passed bills that offer paid abortion leave to city employees. Boston offers them up to 12 weeks of paid leave following an abortion; Pittsburgh and Portland’s versions offered three days. And a bill called the Support Through Loss Act in Congress supported by many Democrats would mandate three days of paid leave for pregnancy loss, including abortion.
Abortion is tragic and kills a human being. No one deserves a financial reward for it.
In short, while most people are OK with abortion under some circumstances, they also acknowledge that it’s a tragedy and want restrictions on the practice. Ignoring this reality, Democrats tend to suffer political defeat in Congress as a consequence.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts.
