Speaker Mike Johnson: Do not Fund Abortions in Obamacare
House Speaker Mike Johnson declared Wednesday that Republicans will not allow U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund abortions through Obamacare
The Speaker firmly opposed discharge petitions that lack longstanding protections against such funding.
Appearing on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Johnson addressed ongoing congressional negotiations over extending expiring ACA subsidies, emphasizing that some discharge petitions would mark the first time Congress affirmatively votes to subsidize abortion coverage.
“We do not use U.S. taxpayer dollars to fund abortion,” Johnson said. “These discharge petitions don’t factor that in at all. So for the first time, you would have a vote — an affirmative vote — to fund abortion services with taxpayer dollars. And that’s a hill I don’t think we want to climb here.”
The speaker’s remarks come as moderate Republicans and Democrats push discharge petitions to force floor votes on extending enhanced Obamacare subsidies, some without Hyde Amendment-style restrictions that have long prevented direct federal funding of elective abortions that kill babies.
Johnson has backed a Republican health care package that provides funding for cost-sharing reductions only to plans that do not cover abortion, a provision that would exclude abortion-covering plans in states where such coverage is mandated.
Johnson confirmed no House vote on an ACA subsidy extension amendment would occur this week, citing internal GOP divisions but reiterating his commitment to preventing taxpayer-funded abortion coverage.
Meanwhile, pro-life advocates have long urged Congress to strengthen protections against taxpayer subsidies for abortion in ACA plans.
Earlier this month, National Right to Life President Carol Tobias called on lawmakers to reject efforts to abandon these safeguards.
“For decades, federal policy has been clear: taxpayers should not be forced to fund or subsidize abortion,” Tobias said in a statement to LifeNews. “Attempts to undermine that consensus are deeply out of step with the values of the American people.”
Despite claims by pro-abortion groups such as Planned Parenthood and Reproductive Freedom for All that current law fully safeguards taxpayer dollars, the ACA’s structure circumvents the traditional Hyde Amendment protections that apply to most federal healthcare programs. For more than four decades, Hyde protections have represented a durable, bipartisan agreement: taxpayer dollars should not be used to pay for or promote elective abortion. Under Section 1303 of the ACA, insurers participating in the Marketplace may include abortion coverage in subsidized plans as long as they engage in a bookkeeping exercise that “segregates” funds. In practice, this mechanism has proven opaque, inconsistently enforced, and insufficient to ensure that public funding and abortion coverage remain meaningfully separate.
REACH PRO-LIFE PEOPLE WORLDWIDE! Advertise with LifeNews to reach hundreds of thousands of pro-life readers every week. Contact us today.
“For years, federal watchdogs have warned that the ACA’s segregation scheme lacks transparency, accountability, and reliable oversight,” Tobias continued. “The American public deserves better than a paper barrier that does little to ensure that their tax dollars are not supporting unlimited abortion.”
Pro-life lawmakers have repeatedly sought to ensure that ACA Marketplace subsidies mirror the same Hyde-like protections that govern Medicaid, federal employee health plans, and other major healthcare programs. These provisions do not restrict anyone’s ability to purchase abortion coverage with private funds, but they would prevent taxpayers from subsidizing plans that cover abortions.
Current proposals in Congress would simply restore this widely supported framework. Contrary to the claims of abortion advocacy groups, these efforts do not “create chaos,” or “eliminate coverage.” They restore clarity, consistency, and integrity to federal policy.
“Comparing basic taxpayer protections to ‘chaos’ is a cynical attempt to bully lawmakers into ignoring their constituents and the clear moral and policy concerns at stake,” said Tobias. “Congress has a clear mandate to ensure that taxpayer funds are used responsibly and in accordance with longstanding federal policy.”
