Revisiting allegations about COVID relief and abortion

It is ironic that many pro-life organizations have been hostile toward the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), since several of its provisions should lead to significant decreases in the number of abortions.

Last month, one of my blog posts took issue with a serious allegation that has been publicized in much of the pro-life press. Many organizations have claimed that failure to include the Hyde Amendment in ARPA will result in a large amount of federal funding for abortions.

It appeared to me that the actual increase in funding for abortions due to the lack of Hyde provisions in ARPA was zero. (The Hyde Amendment makes a difference for programs like Medicaid that involve patient care, but it is not needed in legislation like ARPA.) My blog post promised a link to a more detailed analysis after reviewers had an opportunity to correct or confirm it.

My analysis has been duly corrected and confirmed, and you will find the link at the end of this article.

The linked document includes the original blog post, which explains why misinformation about ARPA in the pro-life press is a significant problem. It then examines all 18 elements of ARPA that have been alleged to involve funding for abortion. In some cases, it turns out that critics misunderstood the provisions of ARPA; in other cases, they misunderstood what the Hyde Amendment would have accomplished.

Paragraphs that I find particularly interesting are highlighted, since most readers will probably not want to read through all twelve pages of the analysis. (More work and more words are required to refute spurious allegations than to make them.)

You can view the analysis by clicking here.

You are welcome to add your comments below.