Obamacare Funnels Taxpayer Money To Cover Elective Abortions

by Jordan Davidson, Federalist, December 18, 2020

A new report found that even in states where taxpayer-funded abortions through health care exchange plans are illegal, taxpayers are paying for elective abortions covered under Obamacare in other states, a direct violation of the Hyde Amendment.

According to researchers at the Family Research Council (FRC), Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI), and Heritage Foundation, 69 percent of Obamacare plans in approximately 24 states and one territory in the U.S. cover elective abortions in 2021. These same states that allow elective abortions are expected to see a 16 percent jump in Affordable Care Act plans offered in 2021.

In Alaska, California, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, and Washington, D.C., 100 percent of the available Obamacare plans cover elective abortions.

“Americans who need the help of the Affordable Care Act to help pay for health insurance have no pro-life options in these locales,” the report reads.

While approximately 26 states have passed pro-life legislation intended to prevent taxpayer money from funding abortions, the report states that federal taxes are used to help cover other states such as California, who allow federally-funded coverage for elective abortions.

“In 2020, an estimated 2.4 million people are receiving a total of $13 billion dollars in taxpayer money in advanceable premium tax credits (APTCs) for plans that cover abortion on demand in all of the states that have not opted out of abortion coverage,” the report states.

This federal funding of elective abortions in other states, CLI President Chuck Donovan notes, is a direct result of the “Obama administration’s severe lack of transparency regarding abortion coverage.”

“This violates both the principles of the Hyde Amendment, and the deeply held moral beliefs of pro-life Americans everywhere,” Donovan said. “What’s more, the program reportedly covers fewer than half the estimated 24 million people its authors estimated would be helped – it is a shell of what it was promised to be.”

“Rather than chase the Little Sisters of the Poor with mandates to provide contraception and abortifacient coverage to their employees, Congress should apply the Hyde Amendment permanently and pursue patient-centered, life-affirming plans that respect the dignity of all Americans, born and unborn,” Donovan added.

The Hyde Amendment bans the use of federal funds on abortions except when the mother’s life is on the line or in cases of incest or rape.