We Testify Storytellers Celebrate Biden's Removal of Hyde from the Budget
May 28, 2021—For Immediate Release
MEDIA CONTACTS:
We Testify: media@wetestify.org
Spokesperson Availability:
Renee Bracey Sherman, executive director of We Testify
People who’ve had abortions and were impacted by the Hyde Amendment
This morning, President Biden released his budget WITHOUT THE HYDE AMENDMENT! The We Testify storytellers are thrilled about this historic moment. So many of us have been impacted by the Hyde Amendment which forced us to delay our abortions and experience ridiculous barriers to abortion because we simply couldn't afford it.
Read the stories of We Testify storytellers who were harmed by Hyde, and those who were able to obtain abortions because their state Medicaid funds covered their abortions.
Said Renee Bracey Sherman, executive director of We Testify:
We Testify storytellers are thrilled that President Biden kept his promise to people who have abortions and did not include the Hyde Amendment in his budget. This effort was led by Black and Brown folks—including many who've had abortions—and puts us on a path to ensure that everyone will have access to abortion coverage, no matter where they get their insurance. The Hyde Amendment is an atrocious, discriminatory, and racist policy that has harmed so many of us as we try to have our abortions. Our nation's budget is a values document that shows the world who and what we care about, and for the first time in decades, the President's budget shows that our nation values abortion access for all. We are still frustrated to see that the Helms Amendment and abstinence-only sex education are included, and we must continue to organize to ensure that people all around the world aren't impacted by the United States' imperialist and colonialist budgetary restrictions. Everyone loves someone who had an abortion and it's time that our nation's priorities center on us.
The Hyde Amendment has existed as a discriminatory policy enforcing an economic caste in this nation, ensuring that people with no or low incomes are unable to afford abortions as soon as we want care. When the late Congressman Henry Hyde of Illinois lobbied for the harmful policy that bears his name, he used hurtful and degrading imagery and descriptions about those of us who have abortions, particularly those of us who receive our health insurance through public support systems. This racist and classist language has thrived for too long, keeping those of us who need care from being able to access it safely. The majority of us—people who have abortions—are people of color, so these restrictions harm us the most. It is long past time for the Hyde Amendment to be ended.
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We Testify is an organization dedicated to the leadership and representation of people who have abortions, increasing the spectrum of abortion storytellers in the public sphere, and shifting the way the media understands the context and complexity of accessing abortion care. We Testify invests in abortion storytellers to elevate their voices and expertise, particularly those of color, those from rural and conservative communities, those who are queer-identified, those with varying abilities and citizenship statuses, and those who needed support when navigating barriers while accessing abortion care.
