What is choice without access? Low-income women and the Hyde Amendment

Displeased with the 1973 Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade, some federal legislators found a way to restrict abortion access through the federal Medicaid bill with passage of the Hyde Amendment in 1976. Today, the effects of the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the use of federal Medicaid funds for abortion services with few exceptions, can be seen in various communities. Seven million women of reproductive age are enrolled in the Medicaid program and are therefore eligible for assistance with the medical care pregnancy and birth require. However, if a woman receiving Medicaid assistance chooses to end her pregnancy, federal Medicaid funds will not provide coverage to enable her to do so. The current version of the Hyde Amendment allows for assistance for pregnancy termination when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or if a woman's life is at risk; however, there is no exception for pregnancy that threatens a woman's health. If they are unable to handle the cost of an abortion without the assistance of Medicaid, women on Medicaid are forced to carry a pregnancy to term even if the pregnancy risks their health. Physicians are playing a role in national efforts to repeal the Hyde Amendment through Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, a national organization that is the voice of pro-choice physicians and a member of the Hyde—30 Years is Enough! Campaign, a coalition of over 60 national organizations dedicated to repealing the harmful and unjust Hyde Amendment.