Background
ON GOVERNMENT FUNDING AND ABORTION

In 1976, at the initiation of Illinois Congressman Henry Hyde, Congress passed legislation known as the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal Medicaid funds from paying for abortion. Between 1973, when Roe v. Wade was decided, and 1976, Medicaid paid for approximately 1/3 of all abortions. Since 1976, it has paid for almost none.

While individual states may allocate their own funds for abortion, 34 states, including Florida, rarely do. In Florida, public funds will cover abortion if pregnancy results from rape or incest, but the incident must be reported. Therefore, the woman who feels too frightened or humiliated to go to the police is not eligible. In Florida, public funds will also cover abortion if pregnancy endangers a woman's life, but that danger must be imminent. The cancer patient who cannot take chemotherapy while she is pregnant is not eligible even though delaying treatment might ultimately cause her death. Medicaid never pays for abortion in the case of a deformed fetus.

Since the early 1980’s Congress has passed additional legislation extending the prohibition of the Hyde amendment to all other government insurance programs. As a result, an estimated 20 million women – Native Americans, federal employees and their dependents, Peace Corps volunteers, federal prisoners, military personnel and their dependents, and women who qualify for Medicare because of a disability – are also deprived of coverage.

WEN was founded to offset these discriminatory policies and close the funding gap for women in need. Since its inception in 1989, WEN has subsidized care for thousands of women and girls. In 2005, WEN together with the other 109 organizations that comprise the National Network of Abortion Funds spent a combined $2 million assisting 22,000 women. Still, this grassroots effort cannot meet all of the need.

Desperate women have no other choice but to use money they have put aside for rent, food, utilities and other basic necessities to pay for their abortions. Some pawn household goods and treasured possessions. Many delay their abortions as they scramble to raise money; these are the women most likely to have late second trimester terminations. Still others are forced to carry to term. The Guttmacher Institute estimates that, in states where Medicaid does not cover abortion, as many as 35% of poor women are forced to carry an untenable pregnancy to term.