Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Hyde Amendment, which blocks abortion coverage for nearly everyone who gets their healthcare from the federal government. The Hyde Amendment and similar policies have made abortion harder to access for millions of people insured via Medicaid, disabled folks, Indigenous people enrolled in Indian Health Service, the folks held in federal prisons and detention centers, people serving in the Peace Corps, federal employees and their dependents, military personnel and their dependents, veterans, and poor and working-class folks.
Poonam Dreyfus-Pai, Interim Executive Director of the National Network of Abortion Funds, released the following statement:
“Abortion funds grew out of the fight against Hyde. Within two decades of Hyde’s passage, at least 28 abortion funds had formed across the country. In 1993, funds came together to form the National Network of Abortion Funds, united by a vision of ending Hyde and ensuring that everyone can access the abortions they want and need. And we’ve never stopped fighting for this vision.
Today, our network has 100 member abortion funds, and the fight against Hyde is stronger than ever. For the last five decades, NNAF and funds have built coalitions, organized against restrictions, fought for federal protections like the EACH Act, and continued showing up for their communities—year after year, challenge after challenge, no matter the political landscape.
That 50-year legacy matters. We are facing more obstacles than ever before. The basic protections Roe provided have been dismantled, abortion bans and restrictions have spread, and the social safety net and funding for reproductive health and justice work face ever-increasing threats. But abortion funds know how to fight through hard times. For 50 years, abortion funds have laid down roots, built power, strengthened our connections across movements, and found new ways to support their communities and get people the abortions they want and need. Fifty years of fighting Hyde also means 50 years of building power. Today is a reminder of our legacy: the fight for abortion access isn’t going anywhere, and neither are abortion funds.”