Every person deserves access to abortion care, regardless of income or type of insurance!

The Hyde Amendment, language in annual appropriations bills that denies abortion coverage to those enrolled in federal health programs, represents a major barrier to abortion care. First passed in 1976, Hyde initially targeted Medicaid, Medicare, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries. Today, related restrictions also extend to federal employees and their dependents; military personnel; Peace Corps volunteers; Indigenous people receiving care from federal or tribal programs; and survivors of human trafficking. 

Tell Congress to pass the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act (HR 561), which would end these dangerous and discriminatory coverage bans that disproportionately harm those struggling to make ends meet; Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities; young people; people living with disabilities; rural communities; immigrants; and LGBTQ individuals.

The bill — led by Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Diana DeGette (D-CO), and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) — would also bar federal political interference in the decisions of private health insurers to offer abortion coverage.  

While abortion is banned in 13 states with further restrictions on the horizon, it is essential to pass the EACH Act to help lay the groundwork for a more equitable future that prioritizes access to abortion for everyone. Urge your lawmakers to support the EACH Act today to ensure that abortion care is there for all of us — however much we earn, wherever we live, and whoever we are. Everyone deserves respect, dignity, and equal access to the resources needed to control their body, family, and future, including insurance coverage of abortion.

Learn more by reading NCJW’s talking points on the EACH Act!