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September 30 2016

The Hyde Amendment

The Hyde Amendment is a discriminatory piece of budget legislation passed each year that bans federal funding of abortion. It impacts millions of people in the United States and takes away the legal right to choose abortion, financially coercing people into giving birth because they can’t afford the abortion they need.

When abortion first became legal in 1973, most people had the ability to obtain a legal abortion. The Medicaid program, a federal health care program for low-income people living in the United States, covered abortion just as it did any other medical procedure.

This changed when Congress passed the Hyde Amendment in 1976, adding a budgetary amendment that gets renewed every year as part of our federal budget.

The Hyde Amendment has one job: to restrict insurance from covering abortion care for people who are on Medicaid or who receive their insurance through the federal government. Essentially, people who receive their insurance benefits through the federal government, including federal employees, military service members and veterans, Peace Corps members, and people whose health care access is already disproportionately affected by systemic racism, like those enrolled in Indian Health Services and Medicaid programs, are barred from using their benefits when choosing an abortion. Abortion is the only medical procedure that has ever been banned from Medicaid, even though other reproductive health care needs are covered, including birth control and sterilization. Currently, nearly 1 in 7 women of reproductive age (15-44) are insured through Medicaid.

We’ve seen firsthand how the Hyde Amendment has a disproportionate impact on those of us who are people of color, immigrants, and struggling financially. Representative Henry Hyde, author of the Hyde Amendment, intended for this to happen. He said, “I would certainly like to prevent, if I could legally, anybody having an abortion: a rich woman, a middle class woman, or a poor woman. Unfortunately, the only vehicle available is the [Medicaid] bill.”

At the National Network of Abortion Funds, alongside over 70 member organizations in our network, we receive calls every day from folks who can’t cover the cost of an abortion. Because of the Hyde Amendment, many of us sell their belongings, go hungry for weeks as we save up their grocery money, or risk eviction by using our rent money to pay for an abortion.

Some of us never manage to get the money we need to pay for our abortion – which means we’re forced to cope with family situations we didn’t plan for. We will always do the best we can and love our families, but we also deserve to make decisions about if, when, and how to create and grow our families.

So what will it take to overturn the Hyde Amendment? It’ll take all of us working together: talking to our friends and loved ones, testifying to our experiences, calling on Congress, our President, and organizing our communities to finally have the abortion coverage we need. Join the movement right now.

Learn More about the Hyde Amendment

rosie jimenez

Remembering Rosie Jiménez, honoring her life through our work

On October 3, 1977, Rosaura Jiménez died in Texas of an illegal abortion, becoming the first known woman to die because of the Hyde Amendment, which eliminated federal Medicaid funding for abortion. Congress first adopted the Hyde Amendment on September 30, 1976, but it did not go into effect until August 4, 1977. Within just […]

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This spring’s Bowl-a-Thon: record-shattering!

Have you been waiting for the other rental shoe to drop? The total numbers are now in from this spring’s National Abortion Access Bowl-a-Thon, and we are bowled over: In the largest event of its kind, activists this year went balls out, breezing past goals to strike Hyde: Together, you raised over $553,000 for abortion […]

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The Stories That Stay With Us

Have you ever heard a story that leaves a lump in your throat? These are the stories that stay. These are the stories that move us. In our new video, members of the National Network of Abortion Funds talk about the experiences that inspire us to do what we do every day:

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Chicago Abortion Fund speaks up in Springfield

“Youth deserve access to reproductive health and abortion services!”  Chicago Abortion Fund‘s Deputy Director Brittany Mostiller speaks out against Illinois’ parental notification law. Watch here:

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Meet Our New Executive Director, Yamani Hernandez!

On May 1, Yamani Hernandez will join the National Network of Abortion Funds as Executive Director. NNAF mobilizes its base of nearly 100 member abortion funds to eliminate economic barriers to abortion for low-income women, women of color, girls, and transgender and gender non-conforming people across the United States. Yamani has been a tireless leader and spokesperson in the […]

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Thank you for Honoring Stephanie Poggi

We’re deeply appreciative to Stephanie Poggi for her last twelve years of dedication and vision as Executive Director of the National Network of Abortion Funds. Under her leadership, we’ve been a continued force for reproductive justice. We’ve expanded our network of members, supporting new Funds and the growth of established Funds. We’re a leading voice […]

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Our Statement of Solidarity with Baltimore Protestors

The National Network of Abortions Funds is in solidarity with Baltimore, and communities across the country who seek safe and equitable neighborhoods for their families. We know reproductive justice is predicated on the ability to have children if, when, and how you choose, and critically, to be able to raise those children in an environment where […]

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ALL* IN for the Each Woman Act

The EACH Woman Act, introduced by Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY), over seventy Congressional Co-Sponsors and with the support of thirty-six women’s health, rights, and justice advocacy organizations, ensures coverage for abortion for everyone, however much they earns or however they are insured. We […]

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Take Action for Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood clinics are critical providers of care for people seeking reproductive healthcare, and in particular, the people who call abortion funds every day. Countless individuals who need help paying for abortion care rely on Planned Parenthood clinics for safe and affordable abortions, contraceptives, and cancer screenings. For many, Planned Parenthood provides the only healthcare check-ups they […]

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We Rebuke the Colorado Springs Attack at Planned Parenthood.

We are outraged by the overwhelming hate and continuous violence targeted toward those who seek and provide abortions. Planned Parenthood in particular, and abortion providers across the United States, have been targets for violent extremists who seek to take away bodily autonomy and reproductive power. As the dishonest rhetoric ratchets up, threats have not only […]

Our Political and Cultural Agenda 40 Years of Hyde Hurting Our Communities

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Recent Posts

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  • "NNAF's new leader, Oriaku Njoku" in off-white sans serif font on a gold-to-purple gradient, with a photo of Oriaku smiling on the right hand sideOriaku Njoku to become NNAF’s next Executive Director
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National Network of Abortion Funds

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The National Network of Abortion Funds builds power with members to remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access by centering people who have abortions and organizing at the intersections of racial, economic, and reproductive justice.

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RECENT STATEMENTS

  • "This fight isn't over. Not even close," in bold sans serif font on a background showing a dark night sky with golden light radiating from the bottom corner.NNAF statement on the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade
    June 24, 2022
  • "NNAF's new leader, Oriaku Njoku" in off-white sans serif font on a gold-to-purple gradient, with a photo of Oriaku smiling on the right hand sideOriaku Njoku to become NNAF’s next Executive Director
    June 13, 2022
  • background of intersecting gold and brown linesProtect Abortion Access:
    Support Abortion Funds

    May 3, 2022

TWEETS

  • Iowa's independent abortion clinic, @EmmaGoldmanIowa, is celebrating their 50th anniversary! 🎉🤸🏿‍♂️ Let's give the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
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