WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – Eighty-eight pro-life organizations signed a letter to Congress warning it not to inadvertently approve abortion funding in the course of extending health care subsidies under the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare.
As explained by the Washington Examiner, certain health insurance tax credits that were extended under ACA during the COVID-19 pandemic are slated to expire at the end of the year. There are bipartisan calls to extend them, but disagreement over the details, such as the duration of the extension and whether to pair it with other spending cuts.
In a September 3 letter to Congress led by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an array of pro-life voices emphasizes the importance of ensuring that any such extension is specifically written to exclude insurance plans that cover abortions because the ordinary protections of the Hyde Amendment are insufficient.
“Democrats wrote the ACA craftily to avoid the Hyde amendment by self-appropriating its funds rather than subjecting it to the annual appropriations process to which Hyde applies,” the letter recalls. “Instead of stopping funding for health insurance plans that cover elective abortion in a consistent manner with Hyde, the ACA expressly permits subsidies for health insurance plans that cover elective abortion. Abortion coverage through these plans is funded using premium tax credits (PTCs) as well as cost-sharing reduction payments (CSRs) that reduce out-of-pocket costs for subsidized enrollees.”
“Democrats falsely claim that Section 13031 applies Hyde to the ACA. This is not the case,” it continues. “Section 1303 established separate payment and separate accounting requirements to justify taxpayer funding for plans that cover abortion. This ‘accounting gimmick,’ colloquially known as the ‘abortion surcharge,’ allows health insurance plans on the ACA exchanges to cover elective abortion and still receive taxpayer funds; so long as they collect the surcharge.”
The letter notes that the first Trump administration issued a rule in 2019 to mandate clearly separate billing for abortion charges, but it was rescinded by the Biden administration.
“(I)f Congress makes changes to the ACA or extends ACA coverage, the changes must include complete application of Hyde policy,” the letter urges. “As pro-life leaders we urge you to ensure that any extension of ACA subsidies is protected by the Hyde amendment. The pro-life Congress must not be a party to the Obama policy of taxpayer funding for abortion.”
The signatories also include the American Association of Pro-Life OB/GYNs, American Principles Project, Americans United for Life, Catholic Vote, Eagle Forum, Family Research Council, Jewish Pro-Life Foundation, Liberty Counsel Action, Pro-Life Action League, and dozens more.
Within weeks of returning to office, President Donald Trump began enforcing the Hyde Amendment (which forbids most federal funds from directly supporting elective abortions), reinstated the Mexico City Policy (which forbids non-governmental organizations from using taxpayer dollars for elective abortions abroad), and cut millions in pro-abortion subsidies by freezing U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) spending.
In March, the administration froze Title X “family planning” grants to nonprofits it said violated its executive orders on immigration and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including Planned Parenthood affiliates in nine states.
In July, Trump signed into law his controversial “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (BBB), a wide-ranging policy package that includes a one-year ban on federal tax dollars going through Medicaid to any that provides abortions for reasons other than rape, incest, or supposed threats to the mother’s life, although that provision is currently held up by a legal challenges.
Other Republicans have proposed stand-alone measures to fully cut off Planned Parenthood’s government funding: the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act, which permanently bans federal funds from being used for abortion; and the Defund Planned Parenthood Act, which disqualifies Planned Parenthood and its affiliates specifically. But they would require 60 votes to make it through the Senate.
