Biden Signs Executive Order Directing Medicaid Funding to Abortion Travel
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President Biden signed an executive order Wednesday that will allow Medicaid funds to be used to facilitate travel for women seeking abortions in states where the procedure is still legal, likely violating the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits the federal financing of abortion.
The order will assist the acquisition of “reproductive health care for women who live in states where abortions are banned,” Biden said at the first meeting of the Interagency Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access on Wednesday. He claimed it also “advances research and data collection to evaluate the impact of this reproductive health crisis on maternal health” and will protect access to contraception.
The Hyde amendment prohibits federal funding from going toward abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or when the health or life of the mother is at risk.
When asked whether Biden’s directive flouts the restriction established by Hyde, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the order “will cover care that is otherwise part of Medicaid,” including “abortion care in certain circumstances, as accepted by the Hyde Amendment.” She also said that the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was an “unconstitutional action.” The June ruling determined that there was no right to abortion in the Constitution.
While the White House insists the order doesn’t violate Hyde, the travel provision is sure to be challenged in court, which means it likely won’t take effect for some time.
As a result of the fallout from the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe, many women are being refused prescriptions for other conditions, such as epilepsy, because the medicine “could cause a miscarriage,” Biden alleged, claiming that the order will help address the issue.
Abortion advocates have claimed that pro-life laws will make it more difficult or even impossible for women experiencing an ectopic pregnancy or a miscarriage to receive treatment, as doctors will refuse to perform necessary and potentially life-saving procedures out of fear of retribution from officials enforcing state pro-life laws. However, every pro-life law in the country includes an abortion exception for cases when the mother’s life is at risk, acknowledging that ectopic pregnancy treatment is unique from an induced, elective abortion.
Beyond blanket executive action such as that which was declared Wednesday, litigation is being waged by the Department of Justice to undercut pro-life laws in Republican states. On Tuesday, the DOJ filed a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s ban on abortion after six weeks of gestation, arguing that the legislation violates a federal law in which doctors must provide care to patients during medical emergencies.
“I believe Roe got it right. It’s been the law for 50 years. We’re doing everything in our power to safeguard the right to choose in Roe v. Wade that’s been ripped away by this extreme court,” Biden said.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Becerra confirmed the more specific actions the Biden administration is taking to counteract Dobbs, such as issuing patient privacy guidance to roughly 60,000 retail pharmacies and health insurance carriers “reminding them not to discriminate in dispensation of care to all patients.”
The order comes after Kansas voted to uphold a right to abortion in its state constitution, defeating a ballot measure that would have allowed the state legislature to pass abortion regulations. Biden shared his support for the move on Wednesday.
“In a decisive victory, voters made it clear that politicians should not interfere with the fundamental rights of women. And the voters of Kansas sent a powerful signal that this fall the American people will vote to preserve and protect the right and refuse to let them be ripped away by politicians,” Biden said at the event. “And my administration has their back.”
