Today, the U.S House of Representatives passed H.R. 7, the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2017," to make permanent the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer dollars from being used to fund abortions through government programs such as Medicaid. Since first enacted in 1976, the Hyde Amendment has only covered funds appropriated through the annual Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations bills, and must be renewed yearly. H.R. 7 would apply the Hyde Amendment uniformly across all federal programs including Obamacare. Seventh Congressional District Representative Rob Woodall co-sponsored the legislation and issued the following statement after its passage.
"The majority of the American people believe that those opposed to abortion shouldn't be forced to fund it through the use of their tax dollars, and that's exactly what this bill seeks to ensure," said Rep. Woodall. "For decades, Congress has been acting annually on this very issue, but we now have the opportunity to address it permanently while also broadening the scope to all federal programs. I'm proud to help move this legislation forward, and proud to partner with those working so hard to defend life."
Significant impacts of H.R. 7 include:
Makes the Hyde Amendment and other current abortion funding prohibitions permanent and government-wide;
Ensures that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) faithfully conforms to the Hyde Amendment while Congress works to repeal and replace the ACA;
Until a new plan year begins, the bill ensures full disclosure, transparency and the prominent display of the extent to which any health insurance plan on the exchange funds abortion.