To: Members of Congress
As one of over a million members of MomsRising, I am writing to urge you to co-sponsor the EACH (Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance) Woman Act to repeal the Hyde Amendment.
The Hyde Amendment restricts government funds from being used to cover an abortion—except in extremely limited circumstances. The Hyde Amendment excludes people who receive Medicaid, military personnel, federal employees, Black, Indigenous, and people of color; LGBTQ people; low-wage workers; and immigrants and Indigenous people from accessing their legal right to abortion. Denying access to abortion solely due to one’s socioeconomic status is completely unacceptable. More than half of the 7.5 million women affected by this coverage ban are women of color.
The time is now to overturn a ban that has only exacerbated health and income inequalities for millions of women and families over the last four decades. In fact, an American Public Health Association study found that women who sought an abortion but could not get one were more likely to be living in poverty a year later than women who did get an abortion.
Being able to manage how many children we have and when we have them has been nothing short of revolutionary—not just for women and mothers, but for our country as a whole. The EACH Woman Act is a bill that would ensure abortion coverage for all. It should not matter how much money you make or whether or not you have insurance – each of us should be able to make personal decisions without politicians interfering.
Now is the time to ensure that every person with the ability to give birth has access to the legal right to abortion care.