Vice presidential hopeful Tim Kaine has privately told Hillary Clinton that he supports her position on repealing the Hyde Amendment, despite his personal pro-life convictions and assurances to the contrary earlier this month.
A spokesperson for Mrs. Clinton told CNN the commitment to repealing the amendment “was made privately.”
Three weeks ago, Mr. Kaine said he has “traditionally supported” the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer dollars from being used to pay for abortions.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, wants to know what changed the Virginia senator’s mind.
“Just 20 days ago, Senator Kaine said he supported the Hyde Amendment, which stops taxpayers from funding abortion on-demand,” Ms. Dannenfelser said in a statement. “What has changed?”
Earlier this month, Mr. Kaine said he had not seen a Democratic Party platform draft calling for the Hyde Amendment’s repeal, but he would “check it out.”
“I haven’t been informed of the change, but I’m going to check it out,” Mr. Kaine told the Weekly Standard on July 6. “I have traditionally supported the Hyde amendment, but I’ll check it out.”
A draft of the Democratic Party platform currently calls for repealing the Hyde Amendment. If the platform draft is approved, it would mark the first time Democrats have come out against the Hyde Amendment in party history.
“We will continue to oppose — and seek to overturn — federal and state laws and policies that impede a woman’s access to abortion, including by repealing the Hyde Amendment,” the draft reads.
Last month, Mr. Kaine said abortion is one of many “moral decisions for individuals to make for themselves, and the last thing we need is government intruding into those personal decisions.”
“I’ve got a personal feeling about abortion, but the right role for government is to let women make their own decisions,” he said June 26 on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
The Hyde Amendment has been attached to federal spending bills for decades and makes exceptions for pregnancies conceived in rape or incest, or those which pose a threat to the life of the mother.
It has received broad bipartisan support since the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade creating a constitutional right to abortion.
• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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