In response to Joe Biden’s flip flopping to oppose the Hyde Amendment (again), Susan B. Anthony List issued the following statement. SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser is available for interviews on this topic today, and also to discuss the strong, steadfast pro-life leadership of President Trump which stands in stark contrast to 2020 Democrats uniform extremism on the abortion issue.
“Joe Biden’s support for taxpayer funding of abortion after decades of opposition is just the latest example of Democratic extremism on abortion. Long gone are the days of ‘safe, legal, and rare,’” said Dannenfelser. “Since its implementation in 1976 when it was strongly supported by Democrats, the Hyde Amendment has saved the lives of more than 2 million Americans who otherwise would have been victims of taxpayer-funded abortions. There’s nothing ‘rare’ about millions more abortions if the Hyde Amendment is repealed. While Joe Biden may be taking a political expedient position in the Democratic primary as candidates race to the left on abortion, he will pay the price in the general election. Joe Biden is supposed to be the one candidate who can win back working class Democrats who backed Trump – this will prove to be a fatal move should he be the nominee.”
Abortion absolutism deters even Democrats’ own base: According to a February Marist poll 34% of Democrats identify as pro-life, 61 percent pro-choice, compared to 20% and 75 percent, respectively only a month earlier in January, before national outcry was sparked by Gov. Cuomo signing extreme pro-abortion legislation into law and Gov. Northam was caught on camera advocating that infants be left to die if they survived abortions.
The same survey found that:
- Three in four Americans (75%) say abortion should be limited to – at most – the first three months of pregnancy, including 78% of Independents, 60% of Democrats, and 61% of people who identify as pro-choice
- 75 percent of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion abroad
- By a double-digit margin, a majority of all Americans oppose any taxpayer funding of abortion (54 percent to 39 percent)
The immortal words of Henry Hyde of Illinois capture the spirit of this simple measure that, since its enactment, has saved the lives of more than 2.25 million of our brothers and sisters. Hyde said, and every citizen should still hear his words, “ That little almost-born infant struggling to live is a member of the human family. And abortion is a lethal assault against the very idea of human rights and destroys, along with a defenseless little baby, the moral foundation of our democracy.”
