Fact check: Pelosi did not withhold coronavirus relief to get abortion funding

Adrienne Dunn, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The Claim: Pelosi blocked coronavirus relief for abortion funding

A viral Facebook post from March 13 claimed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi withheld coronavirus relief because it didn't include "abortion funding," resulting in President Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency to activate $50 billion in federal dollars.

USA TODAY reached out to the author of the post, Casey Ward, but did not receive a response to our request seeking more information about the source of the claim.

COVID-19 relief and prevention funding

Trump signed a spending package of $8.3 billion targeted to prevent the spread of the coronavirus on March 6.

The package was introduced in Congress on March 4 and passed through the House and Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support on March 5. That happened with unusual speed for today's polarized Congress.

Following a steady increase in coronavirus cases and deaths in the country, Trump also declared a national emergency on March 13 to activate $50 billion in emergency relief funds.

More: Trump declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency. What does that mean?

Claims about Pelosi's motives

Claims about Pelosi's stalling motives began to surface while Democrats and Republicans were discussing specifics of the package, including where the money would come from and potential provisions for treatments associated with the virus.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., fueled accusations against Pelosi in an interview March 2 with Laura Ingraham on her FOX News show, "The Ingraham Angle," in which he claimed Pelosi withheld the bill so the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee could run ads against Republicans.

The DCCC did release coronavirus-related ads in seven Republican districts, but McCarthy and other Republicans were involved in negotiations about the package, and there is no other evidence the bill was held up to deploy an advertising campaign.

Pelosi's deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill took to Twitter after McCarthy's interview aired, noting that House Republicans were actively involved in discussions causing the delay and said McCarthy's claim was "a disgusting and false accusation."

Various news reports indicated Democrats stalled the package to debate the affordability of vaccine costs and hospital reimbursements, issues about which Pelosi has been vocal.

However, there is no evidence to support the allegation Pelosi was trying to include abortion funding in the bill as the Facebook post claims. The language of the bill was amended to make sure abortion services did not receive funding.

Moreover, the federal government does not fund abortion services due to the Hyde Amendment. That provision prohibits funding for abortions via Medicaid and other federal programs.

Our ruling: False

The viral Facebook post claiming Pelosi withheld coronavirus relief is rated false.

There was some debate on issues that resulted in Republicans accusing Democrats of intentionally slowing the process, but abortion funding was not among those. Regardless of those debates, the package was passed in one day and signed by Trump. The declaration of national emergency is unrelated to the deliberations over the original bill, and federal law prohibits funding for abortion services.

Our fact-check sources:

  • https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/03/coronavirus-emergency-bill-119729

  • https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/13/coronavirus-emergency-declaration-trump-128530

  • https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/06/trump-signs-8point3-billion-emergency-coronavirus-spending-package.html

  • https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-house-gop-leader-accuses-pelosi-of-stalling-coronavirus-bill-so-dems-can-attack-gop

  • https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/142/text

  • https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/the-hyde-amendment-and-coverage-for-abortion-services/

  • https://twitter.com/Drew_Hammill/status/1234929362484461569?s=20

  • https://www.foxnews.com/transcript/rep-kevin-mccarthy-says-nancy-pelosi-put-party-over-country-in-face-of-coronavirus-threat

  • https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/485434-dccc-targets-house-gop-members-over-trump-administration-response-to

  • https://amendments-rules.house.gov/amendments/LOWEY%20MNGR%20XML_019_xml312200810471047.pdf

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Pelosi didn't block coronavirus relief over abortion funds