Report Finds Restricting Medicaid Funding for Abortion Care Forces 1 in 4 Low-Income Women to Carry Unwanted Pregnancies to Term
According to a new report published Wednesday, in states that restrict Medicaid funding for abortion, approximately one-fourth of women who would choose to obtain a Medicaid-funded abortion if given the option, are instead forced to carry their pregnancies to term because of their inability to pay for the procedure. Published jointly by the Guttmacher Institute and Ibis Reproductive Health, Restrictions on Medicaid Funding for Abortions: A Literature Review also found that Medicaid funding restrictions force some women to delay seeking abortion care by two to three weeks while they attempt to raise the necessary funds.
Funding restrictions like the Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of federal Medicaid funds for abortion except in situations of rape, incest, and life endangerment, disproportionately affect low-income women who have limited resources with which to overcome these obstacles.