Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that she would not vote for the Democrats reconciliation bill if it included the Hyde Amendment, which banned federal spending to go toward abortion.
Anchor Dana Bash said, “Senator Joe Manchin said this weekend that this reconciliation bill, the bill we are talking about, must include the Hyde amendment, which bans federal dollars to go for abortions. He said, ‘Yeah, we are not taking the Hyde amendment off. Hyde’s going to be in. It has to be. It has to be. It’s dead on arrival if this is gone.’ You shared your experience with abortion in congressional testimony this past week. Can you vote for a bill that has the Hyde amendment in it?”
Jayapal said, “No.”
Bash said, “So what happens?”
Jayapal said, “This is a negotiation. We’ve got to continue to move this forward, but the Hyde amendment is something that the majority of the country does not support one in four women have had an abortion and need to have reproductive care in a very, very important time when those protections are being rolled back. That is nobody’s business. It is our business as people that carry the babies. And we have to be able to make the choices during our pregnancy.”
Bash said, “Just to be clear, you want to have in this legislation — you want to allow federal dollars to be spent for abortion?”
Jayapal said, “No, none of the dollars here are going for that.
She added, “I think the reality is I think what he is asking for from my understanding is something more than that. So let’s just continue to see where we are. I think the important thing here is this is the beginning of the negotiations.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.