GOP Study Committee Chair Jim Banks: ‘Not a Single Democrat’ Pledged to Protect Hyde Amendment

Jim Banks
Fox News/Screenshot
Dr. Susan Berry

Republican Study Committee chairman Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) said Thursday “not a single Democrat would put their name on” a letter to congressional leaders pledging to protect the Hyde Amendment.

Banks told Fox & Friends First Thursday the fact that the Hyde Amendment, a longstanding bipartisan provision attached to spending bills that bars taxpayer funds from being used to pay for abortions, is not supported any longer by Democrats is “an incredible example of how far to the left the Democrat Party has gone.”

“There’s nothing unifying about doing away with something that’s been bipartisan for 45 years,” he continued. “Every Democrat president since Jimmy Carter—even Joe Biden himself as recently as 2019—supported the Hyde Amendment which blocks your taxpayer dollars from funding abortion.”

Banks led on the letter signed by 200 House Republicans asking congressional leaders to protect the Hyde Amendment.

“This letter sends a strong signal to congressional leadership—conservatives won’t be backing down,” Banks said in an exclusive interview with Breitbart News. “We will unite against attacks by the radical left to transform America, and that includes forcing pro-life Americans to pay for abortions.”

“I invited Democrats to join it too,” Banks told Fox & Friends First. “Not a single Democrat would put their name on [it].”

Two national polls show Americans share bipartisan unity on prohibiting taxpayer funding of abortion, both in the United States and abroad, as well as on backing abortion restrictions.

A Knights of Columbus/Marist Poll found 77 percent of Americans either “oppose” or “strongly oppose” the use of taxpayer funds for abortions overseas, an uptick of two percentage points from the 75 percent who responded similarly in the last two annual polls. Of those who oppose taxpayer funding of abortions abroad, 55 percent are Democrats, 95 percent are Republicans, and 85 percent are independents.

Only 19 percent of Americans say they either “support” or “strongly support” taxpayer funding of abortions outside the U.S.

Additionally, even among those who identify as “pro-choice,” 64 percent say they oppose the use of their tax dollars to support abortion overseas.

Within the U.S., 58 percent of those surveyed say they oppose taxpayer funding of abortion, including 31 percent of Democrats, 83 percent of Republicans, and 65 percent of independents.

The Marist Poll also found more than three-fourths of Americans (76 percent) back significant restrictions on abortion, including a majority who identify as “pro-choice.”

“While the number of people who identify as ‘pro-life’ and ‘pro-choice’ tends to fluctuate with the public debate, when given a broader choice of policy options, there is a strong consensus among Americans on abortion,” said Dr. Barbara Carvalho, director of the Marist Poll. “Survey results reveal support for abortion restrictions and an aversion for use of taxpayer funding for abortions abroad.”

Similarly, a survey from Students for Life of America’s (SFLA) Institute for Pro-Life Advancement found millennials and Generation Z individuals (ages 18-34) are more pro-life than reported in mainstream and pop culture media.

According to the survey, 48 percent of Americans in this age group oppose taxpayer-funded abortion within the U.S., while 53 percent oppose funding abortions abroad.

Since its survey two years ago, SFLA found support for reversing Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that created a right to abortion, has risen six percentage points, from 51 percent in 2019 to 57 percent in 2021.

According to SFLA, in 2021, “57 percent to 30 percent oppose Roe when they learn it allows for abortion through all 9 months.”

In December, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), now chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said the Hyde Amendment is a “discriminatory policy” because many women of color lack the funds to obtain an abortion.

The Democrat said in her opening statement of a subcommittee hearing that even though “Roe vs. Wade is the law of the land … for too long, some women in this country have been denied their right to an abortion.”

“We know that without insurance coverage of abortion, a legal health care procedure, they face costs more than $500 on average, but can exceed $1,000 depending on where they live, and the type of abortion,” DeLauro stated. “This does not include out of pocket expenses like childcare, time off from work and travel. These costs are prohibitive for too many women.”

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