Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June, abortion is now banned in 10 states and partially banned in another four. President Joe Biden signed one executive order aimed at protecting the so-called “right” to an abortion in July, and signed another—which seeks to make it easier to travel across state lines to obtain an abortion—on August 3.
Biden’s second executive order directs Medicaid to cover abortion-related costs for women who travel out of state to have an abortion, claiming that it is a necessary part of health care and must be provided to the women who want it.
This means that the federal government will use taxpayer dollars to fund women crossing state lines for abortions.
Few details were provided on Wednesday about how the change to Medicaid coverage would work. It’s also unclear how this change would avoid legal challenges with the Hyde Amendment, a federal law prohibiting tax money from being spent on abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and to save the mother’s life.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will “come up with the details on the specifics on how they’re going to work with states” to provide abortions via Medicaid waivers, but she did not elaborate further.
Texas Right to Life Director of Media and Communication Kim Schwartz told Texas Scorecard, “Joe Biden is the most-pro-abortion president in American history. … Biden’s new executive order aims to force taxpayers to fund abortion travel.”
She added, “In the middle of a recession, this is a gross misuse of tax dollars and, more importantly, it’s morally abhorrent. The federal government should not push the murder of countless preborn children.”
