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Democrats Save Joe Biden, Take Federal Abortion Funding Off 2020 Spending Bills

   DailyWire.com
LANCASTER, PA - JUNE 25: Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to families who have benefited from the Affordable Care Act during an event at the Lancaster Recreation Center on June 25, 2020 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Biden met with families who have benefited from the Affordable Care Act and made remarks on his plan for affordable health care. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)
Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images

House Democrats stepped in to save 2020 Democratic nominee Joe Biden from an embarrassing explanation of his historical support for restricting federal funding for abortions by pulling efforts to undo the Hyde Amendment from all 2020 spending bills according to a report in Politico Sunday.

Joe Biden has been struggling to walk the line between his position on abortion while in Congress — a position that, at one time, amounted to a nearly “pro-life” platform and the Democratic Party’s increasingly extreme position on the issue — a position that now includes support for abortion up until the moment of birth, as well as full Federal funding for abortion services.

As recently as June of 2019, according to The Hill, Biden’s campaign claimed they supported the Hyde Amendment, which prevents taxpayer money from going to directly fund abortions — a provision that prevents many taxpayers from taking an active role in what they view as a morally abhorrent procedure.

Just weeks later, though, Vox News recounts, Joe Biden, under fire from far-left competitors for the 2020 presidential nod, flipped on the issue, declaring his full-throated support for abolishing the Hyde Amendment and claiming that the measure “was designed to try to split the difference here, to make sure women still had access, you can’t have access if everyone’s covered by federal policy.”

“If I believe health care is a right, as I do, I can no longer support an amendment that makes that right dependent on someone’s zip code,” Biden added at a Democratic fundraiser.

More recently, Biden appears to have moved even further left on the issue of abortion, endorsing the brutal procedure “under any circumstance” in a statement issued following the Supreme Court ruling in June Medical Services v. Russo, in which the nation’s highest court struck down a Texas law requiring doctors who work at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at a local hospital.

Fortunately for Biden, though, he will be able to dodge questions on the matter at any future debates and will be insulated from progressives’ criticism on the issue, as House Democrats made the decision to pull efforts to abolish the Hyde Amendment from all spending bills presented to the floor during the remainder of the 2020 session.

“Democratic leaders ultimately decided to keep the language to avoid a brutal fight they were unlikely to win with a GOP-led Senate, according to multiple aides and lawmakers,” Politico reports. “Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other Democrats ultimately agreed it wasn’t the right time to make the push, with the party potentially just one election away from controlling the House, Senate and White House and able to enact more sweeping policy changes.”

“Pelosi held a conference call Wednesday with several leaders of the Pro-Choice Caucus, including Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Diana DeGette (D-CP), to discuss the decision, according to several Democratic aides. A draft of the appropriations bill that includes the Hyde language is expected to be unveiled Monday,” the outlet continued.

Clearly, the party hopes Biden will succeed in November, making it far easier to strip the Hyde Amendment from future spending bills.

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