Ayanna Pressley Called Abortion A ‘Fundamental Human Right’

Printed from: https://newbostonpost.com/2021/07/31/ayanna-pressley-called-abortion-is-a-fundamental-human-right/

Is the right to life a human right?

Not for the unborn, according to U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-Dorchester).

The U.S. House of Representatives voted the first time in more than 45 years on Thursday to pass a budget that does not include the Hyde Amendment. It’s a provision that prevents federal funds from paying for most elective abortions. The Hyde Amendment prevents about 60,000 unborn babies from being aborted each year, according to a report published by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, which opposes abortion.

Every Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives supported repealing the Hyde Amendment while every Republican wanted to preserve it.  

Pressley has voiced her support for repealing the Hyde Amendment several times in the past. 

In her tweet on July 15, Pressley said that she thinks abortion is a “fundamental human right.”

“Abortion care is health care, and health care is a fundamental human right,” Pressley tweeted. “Today, we are now closer than ever to passing federal budgets that eliminate the racist Hyde Amendment and affirm the dignity of all people. Grateful to the organizers who made this possible.”

That’s not the only time Pressley called the Hyde Amendment racist. She has made the claim several times this year.

On January 22, Pressley wrote, “On the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, it’s time to #ReimagineRoe and affirm abortion and reproductive justice for all. Together, we can make 2021 the year we finally repeal the racist and discriminatory Hyde Amendment once and for all. Tick tock y’all. #BeBoldEndHyde.”

She reiterated that point one week later on January 29 by tweeting:  “In this moment of reckoning, we demand bold policies & budgets that advance reproductive justice & affirm that abortion care is health care & health care is a human right. That begins with budgets clean of the Hyde Amendment and all other racist abortion bans. Tick Tock, y’all.”

On March 25, she expressed the same sentiment. That time, she tweeted, “Reproductive justice = racial & economic justice. Proud to join my colleagues to re-introduce the EACH Act to repeal the racist & discriminatory Hyde Amendment & affirm the right to abortion care for all people without political interference. #BeBoldEndHyde #4EACHofUs.”

The”EACH Act” is formally known as the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act of 2021.

The Hyde Amendment primarily affects Medicaid recipients. The majority of Medicaid recipients are non-white, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. As of 2019, they were 41.1 percent white, 20 percent black, 29.3 percent Hispanic, 4.3 percent Asian/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 1.1 percent American Indian/Alaska Native, and 4.2 percent mixed race.

The National Health Law Program lays out instances where the EACH Act would apply in addition to Medicaid:

 

People who are enrolled in Medicaid, Medicare, and CHIP;

Indigenous people who receive their health care from IHS;

Refugees who receive medical assistance through federal programs for domestic resettlement and assistance to refugees;

People detained in federal prisons or detention centers, such as immigration detention;

Young people in the care or custody of the United States’ Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement;

People who are enrolled in government-sponsored health insurance programs or plans due to a current or former employer relationship, including federal employees and their dependents, Peace Corps volunteers; military members, veterans, and their dependents;

People who receive other coverage, such as through a State health benefits risk pool; and

Government-sponsored programs established after the EACH Act’s enactment.

 

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