EMILYs List Statement on the Anniversary of the Hyde Amendment

For Immediate Release
September 30, 2021

EMILYs List Statement on the Anniversary of the Hyde Amendment

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, in recognition of the 45th anniversary of the Hyde Amendment, which blocks federal Medicaid funding for abortion services, EMILYs List President Laphonza Butler released the following statement:

“Today, EMILYs List celebrates the progress that has been made by the Biden-Harris administration and Democrats in Congress to move a budget that eliminates the Hyde Amendment. This amendment was designed to institutionalize unequal access to reproductive care and disproportionately hurts low-income families and people of color trying to access abortion and health care services. The right to make your own health care decisions should be shared by everyone, not just those who can afford it. EMILYs List stands with the majority of Americans who support legal access to abortion and is grateful for the work of our reproductive justice partners who have fought to end this discriminatory amendment. At a time when reproductive rights are under constant threat, we are proud to continue the work of electing Democratic pro-choice women to all levels of government to fight for reproductive rights in every community.”

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $700 million to elect Democratic pro-choice women candidates. With a grassroots community of over five million members, EMILY's List helps Democratic women win competitive campaigns – across the country and up and down the ballot – by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running nearly $50 million in independent expenditures in the last cycle alone, and turning out women voters and voters of color to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country's first woman as vice president, 158 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and more than 1,300 women to state and local office. More than 40 percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. After the 2016 election, more than 60,000 women reached out to EMILY's List about running for office laying the groundwork for the next decade of candidates for local, state, and national offices. In our effort to elect more women in offices across the country, we have created our Run to Win program, expanded our training program, including a Training Center online, and trained thousands of women.