WASHINGTON, D.C. – OCTOBER 21: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) gestures as he speaks at his weekly press conference at the U.S. Capitol Building on October 21, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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UPDATED 1:51 PM PT – Saturday, October 23, 2021
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) met with leaders of the Pro-Life Caucus and guests on the “Right to Life” to discuss the importance of standing against taxpayer-funded abortions.
On Friday, the Republican leader met with Congress’ pro-life group members to defend the amendment that Joe Biden once supported and voted in favor of several times when he was a senator. McCarthy said he wants people to know exactly where their tax money is going, especially with Democrats pushing their trillion-dollar so-called Build Back Better Bill, which aims to remove the Hyde Amendment altogether.
“But this is one fundamental point that America had come together on for the last 50 years and without one debate, Democrats decided that every element of every bill and especially in this one. And when you’re talking trillions of dollars being spent, you’re talking lives being lost,” stressed McCarthy.
The Republican pointed back to 1994 when Biden said “the government should not tell those with strong convictions against abortion, such as you and I, that we must pay for them.”
One of the Hyde Amendments most vocal supporters used to be then-Senator Joe Biden.
In 1994, he said “the government should not tell those with strong convictions against abortion, such as you and I, that we must pay for them.”
I agree with Joe Biden! https://t.co/6QYqFUtmeQ
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) October 22, 2021
However, Democrats are now doing everything in their power to get funding for abortions in any bill they can pass. Minn. Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R) stressed how important it is that Americans know what’s in the reconciliation package so they can stand up against attacks on their freedoms.
While most Democrat lawmakers have continued to push for the removal of the 40-year-old amendment, moderate Democrats like Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), have refused to support the reconciliation package unless the Hyde Amendment is included. GOP leaders stressed this funding, paid for by American tax dollars, won’t only fund abortions in the U.S., but could potentially fund them globally.
Since 1976, there has been strong bipartisan agreement that the federal government has no place funding abortion, but now the law is under assault by the Democrat’s spending bill. McCarthy said he’s appalled by their disregard for life and hopes more can see how important the Hyde Amendment truly is.