Support Pro-Life Appropriations Riders

Southern Baptists affirm that every human is created in the image of God. As stated in a 2022 resolution of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Bible clearly and unequivocally affirms “the preborn child is a person, bearing the image of God, from the moment of conception” (Gen. 1:27; 9:6), regardless of age, level of ability, or stage of development. This is a truth to which Christians in every century have testified and are called to bear witness in every age and in every sphere of life. Furthermore, in a 2021 resolution, Southern Baptists called on “Congress and the President to uphold the Hyde Amendment and all pro-life Amendments, to protect life, and to prevent taxpayers from being complicit in the moral evil of abortion.”

In past years, the Hyde Amendment has been excluded from proposed appropriations bills and treated as a negotiation tool. The Hyde Amendment is a budget rider on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) appropriations bill to prevent Medicaid from covering the cost of abortion. In Fiscal Year 2024 negotiations, the ERLC was glad to see that this amendment and other pro-life amendments were included in both the proposed House and Senate appropriations bills. Building upon this, our desire is to see these riders eventually codified into federal statute through legislation like the Conscience Protection Act and the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which ensures these vital pro-life provisions are no longer treated like one piece in the appropriations negotiations process.