Despite campaign promises to the contrary, President Obama -- in his budget released yesterday -- did not move to overturn the Hyde Amendment, the provision that bars federal funds from being used to pay for abortions. The Hyde Amendment has the biggest effect on low-income women who use Medicaid; because of Hyde, these already economically struggling women must pay out-of-pocket to terminate a pregnancy. The average cost of an abortion is $468, and 74 percent of patients pay for the procedure out-of-pocket.
That said, 17 state public health programs offer a publicly financed option for abortion, at least in cases of health risks for the pregnant woman. The District of Columbia is not currently one of those "states," despite our city's liberal politics. Why? Because our laws are subject to congressional approval. So it is fascinating to see that even as the Obama administration maintains the federal Hyde Amendment, the White House's budget proposal seeks to overturn D.C.'s local ban on publicly financed abortions.
Of course, overturning an abortion-financing ban in a predominantly Democratic city is far less controversial than changing federal policy in a way that would affect all 50 states. President Obama clearly has significant fears about stoking conservative opposition around the issue of abortion in particular, even as he attempts to limit funding for abstinence-only education. Nevertheless, the administration's capitulation on Hyde is worrying as Democrats prepare for an all-out press for health care reform. The willingness to support a federal ban on publicly financed abortion suggests that the administration will likely exclude abortion from coverage under any future public health care plan.
--Dana Goldstein
