EMILYs List Statement on Biden’s Support for Hyde Amendment

For Immediate Release

June 5, 2019

EMILY's List Statement on Biden's Support for Hyde Amendment

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to an NBC news story confirming Vice President Biden's support for the Hyde Amendment, EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock released the following statement:

“At a time when reproductive rights are under consistent attack, it’s unacceptable that a major Democratic nominee supports the Hyde Amendment. This amendment, which blocks federal funding for abortion services with few exceptions and effectively bans abortion for women on Medicaid, which has a disproportionate impact on young women and women of color. Americans overwhelmingly support women’s rights to make their own health care choices and Democrats made repealing the Hyde Amendment part of our 2016 platform. We hope that Vice President Biden will reconsider this position and what it means to millions of women. There’s simply too much at risk.”

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $600 million to elect pro-choice Democratic 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 strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect 150 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and nearly 1,100 women to state and local office. Nearly 40 percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. During the historic 2017-2018 cycle, EMILYs List raised a record-breaking $110 million and launched a record independent expenditure campaign. We helped elect 34 new women to the House, including 24 red-to-blue victories; enough seats to have delivered the U.S. House majority alone. Since the 2016 election, more than 46,000 women have 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.