| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 29, 2020 |
CONTACT: Prudence Robertson [email protected] |
As the Lifesaving Hyde Amendment Turns 44, Biden Hides His Record on Taxpayer-Funded Abortion and Packing the Supreme Court
Washington, D.C. – Ahead of the first presidential debate of 2020 between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) slammed Biden’s extreme record on abortion and refusal to answer questions:
“Will Joe Biden’s growing extremism on abortion get the scrutiny it deserves at tonight’s debate?” asked SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “During the Democratic primary, Biden reversed himself on the Hyde Amendment – longstanding policy that has saved more than 2.4 million lives – and now favors forcing taxpayers to fund abortion on demand through birth. Now, as other leading pro-abortion Democrats call for packing the Supreme Court, Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris dodge questions about their stance. We call on Biden to immediately release his Supreme Court candidate list, as President Trump has consistently done, and we hope moderators will press him for transparency on these pivotal issues.”
Background and Timeline on Biden’s “Flip-Flop-Flip” on Taxpayer-Funded Abortion
September 30, 2020 marks the 44th anniversary of the passage of the Hyde Amendment, which prevents federal taxpayer funding of abortion. A recent Marist poll shows that 60% of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion, including 55% of Independents and 35% of Democrats.
- 1994: In a letter to a constituent, then-Senator Biden wrote that he agreed completely that taxpayers should not have to pay for abortions, noting that he had voted over 50 times in support of that position.
- 2007: In a Meet the Press interview with Tim Russert, Biden reaffirmed his opposition to taxpayer-funded abortion.
- May 2019: In the midst of the Democratic presidential primary, Biden was asked on camera by an ACLU volunteer if he would commit to repealing the Hyde Amendment. He said yes. When pressed again by the same volunteer, he confirmed his opposition to Hyde.
- June 5, 2019: Biden’s campaign confirmed to NBC News that he still supported the Hyde Amendment and claimed, in a statement to the New York Times, that he “misheard” the ACLU volunteer.
- June 6, 2019: Biden abruptly reversed his position again, saying he supports repealing Hyde.
SBA List is tracking the abortion extremism of the Biden-Harris ticket at www.LifeOnTheBallot.com.
SBA List is a network of 900,000 pro-life Americans nationwide, dedicated to ending abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.
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