Abortion policy in this country does not treat all women equally. The Hyde Amendment prohibits Medicaid, the federal health care program for the poor and indigent, from covering abortion care in almost all circumstances. Most people think of abortion as a “woman’s issue,” which of course it is. But the Hyde Amendment intentionally discriminates against poor women, who are disproportionately women of color. In this way, it is also an issue of basic civil rights and economic justice. Anyone who cares about fighting racism and poverty must realize that attacks on abortion, and especially on abortion funding, are first and foremost attacks on poor and low-income women of color.
Please join CAP’s Women’s Health & Rights and Progress 2050 programs for an engaging conversation about the impacts of the Hyde Amendment on women of color and a discussion of why progressives committed to economic and racial justice should be part of the fight to repeal it, as we release a new report on this topic.
Featured panelists:
Jessica Arons, Director of the Women’s Health and Rights Program, Center for American Progress
Toni M. Bond Leonard, President/CEO of Black Women for Reproductive Justice and Board Member of the National Network of Abortion Funds
Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office
Alexis Zepeda, Advisor to the DC Abortion Fund
Moderated by:
Erica Williams, Deputy Director for Progress 2050, Center for American Progress