The U.S. Congress first passed the Hyde Amendment 50 years ago.* This unjust law bars people from using federal money to pay for abortions. Since Hyde was passed in 1976, it’s blocked hundreds of thousands of people from getting the abortions they want and need. Abortion funds have been building power together to fight Hyde since it began.
*The Hyde Amendment must be renewed every year. U.S. politicians in Congress keep voting to keep it in the federal budget.
What does Hyde do?
The Hyde Amendment blocks the federal government from covering abortions for nearly everyone who has Medicaid (unless their state uses its own funds). Over the last 50 years, Congress has extended Hyde’s restrictions to almost anyone who gets their care through the federal government. For half a century, the Hyde Amendment has blocked hundreds of thousands of people from getting abortions.
We need to come together and urge Congress to pass the EACH Act, which would end Hyde and restore abortion coverage for anyone who gets healthcare through the federal government.”
Poonam Dreyfus-Pai, Interim Executive Director, NNAF
Who does Hyde harm?
- Anyone covered by Medicaid
- Indigenous people enrolled in Indian Health Service
- Folks in federal prisons and detention centers
- Disabled people
- Poor and working-class folks
- Federal employees and their families
- People in the military and their families
- Veterans
- Peace Corps volunteers
Abortion funds v. Hyde: A 50-year fight.
The Hyde Amendment creates a gap in care—a gap that abortion funds have been filling since the beginning. As soon as Hyde was passed, advocates started grassroots abortion funds across the country. Their goals: Get rid of Hyde and, in the meantime, help their communities get abortions despite its restrictions.
By the 1990s—less than two decades after Hyde first passed—twenty-eight abortion funds had formed across the country. Twenty-two of those funds started the National Network of Abortion Funds (NNAF) in 1993. We joined together to build strategic power and end the Hyde Amendment. Today, our network has nearly 100 member abortion funds, and our fight against Hyde continues.
Abortion funds stay ready, despite a brutal legal and political landscape.
Fifty years after Hyde, the abortion access landscape is rough.
In 2022, Dobbs shattered Roe v. Wade’s minimal abortion protections. Since then, new abortion bans and attacks seem to happen every day. The U.S. government is shredding Medicaid and cutting basic social safety nets. Large funders and individual donors are also disappearing across the reproductive access landscape. This forces people to do more just to get basic healthcare.
But for the last 50 years, abortion funds and the reproductive rights, health, and justice movement have been laying roots. Together, we’ve pivoted strategically, built for sustainability, deepened connections across movements, and put our communities’ humanity and dignity first.
We’re proud of our resistance legacy.
For 50 years, abortion funds have joined with other Reproductive Justice organizations to build coalitions and fight the Hyde Amendment.
- In 2000, abortion funds joined with over 200 ally groups to launch the Campaign for Access and Reproductive Equity.
- In 2010, abortion funds were at it again when they helped launch the Coalition for Abortion Access and Reproductive Equity.
- In 2015, abortion funds played a vital role in the first-ever introduction of the EACH Act to repeal the Hyde Amendment.
- Abortion funds have introduced, fought for, and (in some cases) passed state public funding for abortion.
The fierce abortion funds in our network have raised money, arranged travel, connected folks to clinics, provided practical support, and fought restrictions in their states and communities. Despite endless challenges, their tireless work has built power for our collective goal: Make abortion accessible for all.
We can end the Hyde Amendment.
When it comes to protecting abortion access, the power is in our hands. Fueled by the love of our communities—and sometimes sheer rage—we’ll keep fighting abortion stigma and abortion restrictions. Abortion funds have been fighting the Hyde Amendment for 50 years, and we’re ready for more. We aren’t going anywhere.
Join the fight against abortion restrictions.
LEARN: Check out these Fast Facts About Abortion Funds and our Hyde Amendment FAQ. Read and share!
JOIN: Connect with your local abortion fund. Look them up with Find an Abortion Fund!
FOLLOW: Check out @abortionfunds on Instagram and Blue.sky. Get info about local abortion funds, actions you can take, and more!