Today, the Seattle City Council voted unanimously to pass a resolution calling on federal lawmakers to repeal all bans on public insurance coverage of abortion, including the Hyde Amendment. This makes Seattle the sixth jurisdiction in the country—and first in the Northwest—to declare its support for repealing the Hyde Amendment and restoring access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare for every woman.
The Hyde Amendment, adopted in 1976, prohibits abortion coverage through Medicaid—a program through which nearly nine million American women of reproductive age are insured. Washington is one of only 17 states that fill the critical gap in funding created by the Hyde Amendment by providing abortion coverage for Medicaid recipients through state funds. Yet even here, women who receive federally sponsored healthcare through Medicare, the Veteran’s Administration (VA), the Peace Corps, and other programs are left without coverage for a full range of options when facing an unintended pregnancy.
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