'Squad' Rep. Ayanna Pressley claims pro-life Hyde Amendment's 'days are numbered' on hearing day

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Rep. Ayanna Pressley, member of the progressive “Squad” in the House of Representatives, promised that the Hyde Amendment’s days are “numbered” as the lower chamber held a hearing to seek federal funding for abortion. 

“As Chairwoman @rosadelauro said, this is the last year the Hyde amendment will perpetuate harm onto Black and brown people seeking to exercise their right to bodily autonomy,” the Massachusetts Democrat wrote on Twitter. “Hyde's days are numbered. #BeBoldEndHyde”

“We’re going to end #Hyde & advance reproductive justice for all people,” she wrote in a separate tweet. 

The Hyde Amendment prevents tax dollars from being used to pay for abortions and has been included in every federal spending bill since 1976.

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House Democrats held a hearing before the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee Tuesday to debate the Hyde Amendment.

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The hearing was entitled “The Impact on Women Seeking an Abortion but are Denied Because of an Inability to Pay.”

Democrats emphasized racial disparities caused by the Hyde Amendment. Preventing low-income women from using Medicare to pay for abortions denies “the humanity of people of color and their ability to do well for their families,” stated Rep. DeLauro, who is the incoming chair of the House Appropriations Committee

“Now is the time to empower all women to make deeply personal life decisions," added the 15-term Connecticut Congresswoman, "without politicians inserting themselves into the doctor’s office.”

Democrats have a new ally coming to the White House --   President-elect Joe Biden who has reversed course on the Hyde Amendment. In June 2019 he withdrew his longstanding support, saying he "can no longer support an amendment that makes" a woman's right to an abortion "dependent on someone's ZIP code."

Biden faced backlash from other Democrats after his campaign held that he supported the amendment despite allegedly telling a woman during a rally that he would repeal it.

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"I make no apologies for my last position and I make no apologies for what I'm about to say," Biden said on Thursday at an event in Atlanta, defending his change of heart. "I can't justify leaving millions of women without access to the care they need and the ability to exercise their constitutionally protected right."