The Hill News

Innumerable polls show that the great majority of Americans reject the notion that abortion should be regarded as a routine part of "healthcare." For example, a 2010 Zogby/O’Leary poll found that 76 percent of Americans said that federal funds should never pay for abortion or should pay only to save the life of the mother.

Until the 2009-2010 Congress, federal law for the most part reflected this majority opinion. The Hyde Amendment, for example, annually prohibits any funds that flow through the Health and Human Services (HHS) appropriations bill from funding either abortions or managed care plans that cover abortion (except to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape and incest). Another example: For decades, the hundreds of private health plans that participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program have been prohibited from covering elective abortions.

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