White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki decided not to circle back with a reporter regarding abortion funding today. She straight up just didn’t answer the question. She deployed the very common strategy of saying a lot, but also not much with regards to this question about abortion funding. With COVID relief, it’s a DC goodie bag. Everything under the sun is included. It has a massive $1.9 trillion price tag. With so much money, it’s easy to sneak a lot of things in, like maybe taxpayer-funded abortions. Owen Jensen of EWTN, a Catholic outlet, asked about whether the Hyde Amendment will be applied to some of the projects in this $1.9 trillion deal.
Psaki wondered wanted Jensen to provide some specificity, so he said that this bill has a $50 million increase to Title X grants, $750 million for global health initiatives, and billions for community health centers. Will the Hyde Amendment be applied to these expenditures?
Psaki repeatedly refuses to directly address @owentjensen's question: "Can this administration right now guarantee, if the American Rescue Plan is passed, that no taxpayer dollars will go to the abortion industry?" pic.twitter.com/jT7ah9E42S
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) February 16, 2021
‘Circle Back’ Psaki decided to frame the increased funding for community health centers as a benefit to the public while also adding that the president thinks it’s essential in our ongoing fight with COVID.
Jensen pressed again whether she and this administration can guarantee that no federal money will go to the funding of abortion. She said that the public supports passing this bill, getting Americans back to work, and vaccinated, which she says answers his question. It doesn’t.
She also said that Biden has already shared his view on the Hyde Amendment, which is that he’s now against it. Democrats have an affinity for abortion and now want us, the taxpayer, to fund them without exception.
They’re more honest about what they really want with every passing day—and it’s all unpopular.
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