Democrats keep trying to skirt Hyde amendment, spend taxpayer money on abortions

April 30, 2023

Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) has joined fellow Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R) in his commitment to block Biden appointees until the U.S. military stops using taxpayer money to fund abortions for its members, which is a violation of the Hyde Amendment blocking the use of taxpayer funds for the procedure.

After about half of U.S. states passed laws banning abortions at anywhere from six to 15 weeks' gestation, the Pentagon said it would fund travel to other states for the purpose of getting abortions for those who live in more restrictive states and can't get abortions there.

Britt said:

The Department of Defense should actually be doing the real work that they’re supposed to be doing, which is making sure that our warfighters are the best equipped, the best resourced and the best trained in the world. Never should they be using any type of funding to promote or support abortion. For years, we have obviously agreed on the Hyde Amendment in a bipartisan way, saying we would never let taxpayer money be used to fund abortion.

Britt said she supported bills in the Senate that block the VA and DOD from using taxpayer funding for abortion. It was not clear whether these bills would pass, but it is unlikely.

But Britt thinks education about what the agencies are trying to do may help put pressure on the administration to bring itself into line with the Hyde Amendment, which is currently the law.

"I think we have to continue to make sure that the people understand it is Democrats who are extreme, and they are continuing to try to chip away at the longstanding bipartisan consensus that taxpayer dollars should not and will not fund abortions,” Britt said.