Leading Democratic Party presidential contender Joe Biden reversed decades of support for the anti-federal funding of abortion Hyde Amendment Thursday night at a DNC dinner following intense pressure from abortion extremists who have taken over the Democrat Party. Biden blamed Republicans for his decision.
Biden: "I can no longer support…" the Hyde Amendment. "Times have changed," Biden says, blaming GOP attacks on abortion rights for his reversal
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) June 7, 2019
The former Obama vice president came under withering attack after a NBC News report by Heidi Przybyla published Wednesday detailing Biden’s opposition to federal funding of abortion.
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s decades-long evolution on abortion rights has in many ways mirrored the changing attitudes of the Democratic Party, growing increasingly supportive over time.
But his past opposition to most federal funding for abortion services is more striking than previously recognized, according to an NBC News review of his Senate voting record, and includes repeated examples of Biden rejecting exceptions for victims of rape and incest that were supported by many members of his party at the time.
As a U.S. senator from Delaware, Biden voted against a 1977 compromise that allowed Medicaid to fund abortions that included exceptions for victims of rape and incest in addition to concerns for the life of the mother. While the rape and incest exceptions passed in that case, Biden voted in 1981 to again remove them, in what was the most far-reaching ban on federal funds ever enacted by Congress.
Biden also voted several times, including in 1983, to prohibit federal workers from using health insurance on abortion services, with the only exception being to save the life of the mother.
A devout Roman Catholic, Biden says he personally opposes abortion and has spoken openly about his internal struggles with the issue.
…Yet his presidential campaign confirmed to NBC News that Biden still supports the Hyde Amendment, a four-decade-old ban on using federal funds for abortion services, except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the woman.
End excerpt. Please read the complete long, detailed NBC News article at this link.
Video of Biden’s remarks made at the DNC “I Will Vote” gala in Atlanta Thursday night posted by MSNBC’s Kailani Koenig:
JOE BIDEN @ the top of his remarks here in Atlanta, GA REVERSES his stance on the Hyde Amendment, essentially saying “times have changed” & concerns for women seeking health care have been exacerbated…so he no longer supports Hyde. Video: pic.twitter.com/jra4PviprU
— Kailani Koenig (@kailanikm) June 7, 2019
Longer version posted by ABC News:
NEW: Joe Biden reverses stance on Hyde Amendment after taking heat from some of his fellow 2020 Democrats.
“I can’t justify leaving millions of women without access to the care they need and the ability to exercise their constitutionally protected right.” https://t.co/d630CNfLC7 pic.twitter.com/ILvN4CuAmV
— ABC News (@ABC) June 7, 2019
UPDATE from Biden deputy campaign manager, “.@JoeBiden tonight on #HydeAmendment: “Women’s rights and women’s health are under assault like we haven’t seen in the last 50 years. …If I believe healthcare is a right, as I do, I can no longer support an amendment that makes that right dependent on someone’s zip code.”
.@JoeBiden tonight on #HydeAmendment: "Women’s rights and women’s health are under assault like we haven’t seen in the last 50 years. …If I believe healthcare is a right, as I do, I can no longer support an amendment that makes that right dependent on someone’s zip code."
— Kate Bedingfield (@KBeds) June 7, 2019
