Lankford Leads Senate in Honoring 50 Years of the Hyde Amendment

Resolution Recognizes 50 Years of Bipartisan Support for the Hyde Amendment and its Protections for Unborn Children WASHINGTON, DC — US Senator James Lankford (R-OK), Chair of the Senate Values Action Team, introduced a resolution recognizing the Hyde Amendment’s 50th anniversary and its enduring legacy of protecting unborn children and upholding the conscience rights of American taxpayers. The resolution commemorates 50 years of the Hyde Amendment by recognizing its legacy of saving more than 2.6 million lives while affirming that federal taxpayers should not be compelled to fund abortions in violation of their deeply held religious and moral beliefs. “For 50 years, the Hyde Amendment has been an important protection for American taxpayers,” said Lankford. “Every child is valuable. No American should ever wonder if the check they’re sending to the IRS on April 15 will be used to pay for someone’s elective abortion. Hyde was a bipartisan agreement five decades ago, and it has been included in appropriations bills every year since. We should keep that commitment in place.” You can download the text of the resolution HERE or below: Whereas September 30, 2026, marks the 50th anniversary of the Hyde Amendment, a longstanding pro-life provision which protects Federal taxpayer dollars from being used to take human life through elective abortion; Whereas, in 1976, Congressman Henry J. Hyde introduced an amendment, which bears his name, to House of Representatives Bill No. 14232, 94th Congress (referred to in this preamble as the “Hyde Amendment”); Whereas, in introducing his amendment, Congressman Hyde explained, “We who seek to protect that most defenseless and innocent of human lives, the unborn—seek to inhibit the use of Federal funds to pay for and thus encourage abortion as an answer to the human and compelling problem of an unwanted child.”; Whereas the Hyde Amendment was adopted by Congress, shortly after Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973) was decided, by a bipartisan vote and has been renewed in both Republican and Democratic majorities through the annual appropriations process for 50 years; Whereas, since 1976, more than 2,600,000 lives have been saved by the Hyde Amendment; Whereas the Hyde Amendment reflects the bipartisan principle that American Federal taxpayer dollars should not be used to finance abortions, safeguarding taxpayers’ conscience rights; Whereas public funding of abortion makes the American taxpayer complicit in the physical, emotional, and societal harm caused to women by abortion and increases the pressure a woman may already feel to have an abortion; Whereas the 50th anniversary of the Hyde Amendment provides an opportunity to remember the more than 64,000,000 abortions that have taken place in the United States since the Roe v. Wade decision; and Whereas every human life in the womb has inherent dignity and worth, is not inconvenient, and has the right to life: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— (1) recognizes the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the amendment by Congressman Henry Hyde (referred to in this resolution as the “Hyde Amendment”); (2) commemorates the adoption of the Hyde Amendment in 1976, and its continued inclusion in Federal appropriations bills for 5 decades; (3) honors the legacy of Congressman Hyde and recognizes his leadership in establishing the policy that bears his name; (4) recognizes the 2,600,000 lives saved by the Hyde Amendment; (5) affirms the principle that Federal taxpayers should not be compelled to fund abortions in violation of their deeply held religious, moral, medical, or ethical convictions; (6) recognizes the Members of Congress, advocates, citizens, and organizations that have worked for more than 5 decades to preserve protections for unborn children and to maintain limitations on the use of Federal funds for abortion; and (7) encourages the people of the United States to reflect upon the history and significance of the Hyde Amendment and the loss of more than 64,000,000 babies through abortions that have taken place since Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973). Background Congressman Henry Hyde first introduced the Hyde Amendment in 1976, and it has been included in federal appropriations bills for five decades. Lankford’s resolution recognizes the amendment’s bipartisan history and its role in protecting taxpayers from being compelled to fund abortions in violation of their deeply held religious, moral, medical, or ethical convictions. The resolution also recognizes more than 2.6 million unborn children whom it attributes to having been saved by the Hyde Amendment. Joining Lankford in introducing the resolution are Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Jim Justice (R-WV), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Steve Daines (R-MT), Jim Risch (R-ID), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Rick Scott (R-FL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jim Banks (R-IN), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Mike Lee (R-UT), John Hoeven (R-ND), Darline Graham (R-SC), Katie Britt (R-AL), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Dave McCormick (R-PA). Rep. Smith (R-NJ-04) introduced companion legislation in the House along with 27 other House members, including Reps. John Moolenaar (R-MI-02), Riley Moore (R-WV-02), Robert Aderholt (R-AL-04), Brian Babin (R-TX-36), Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05), Ben Cline (R-VA-06), Michael Cloud (R-TX-27), Andrew Clyde (R-GA-09), Warren Davidson (R-OH-08), Ron Estes (R-KS-04), Harriet Hageman (R-WY-AL), Andy Harris (R-MD-01), Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01), Addison McDowell (R-NC-06), John McGuire (R-VA-05), Mary Miller (R-IL-15), Blake Moore (R-UT-01), Nathaniel Moran (R-TX-01), Ralph Norman (R-SC-05), Bob Onder (R-MO-03), John Rutherford (R-FL-05), Keith Self (R-TX-03), Mike Simpson (R-ID-02), Pete Stauber (R-MN-08), Glenn Thompson (R-PA-15), Daniel Webster (R-FL-11), and Rudy Yakym (R-IN-02). Supporting organizations include CatholicVote, Americans United for Life, National Right to Life Committee, Live Action, March for Life Action, Concerned Women for America, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Students for Life Action, Heritage Action, Alliance Defending Freedom, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Heartbeat International, United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Family Research Council. You can learn more about the resolution in the Daily Wire HERE . ###