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“I’m going to support Hyde in every way possible,” Manchin told @BGOV. He might as well have said “I support discriminating against poor people,” since that’s what the Hyde Amendment does.

Sen. Henry Hyde (R-Il) introduced the Hyde Amendment in 1976 specifically so he could prevent the only people he could control—people who rely on the government for health care—from having an abortion.

“I certainly would like to prevent, if I could legally, anybody having an abortion, a rich woman, a middle-class woman, or a poor woman. Unfortunately, the only vehicle available is the … Medicaid bill.” Hyde was a classy guy.

The Hyde Amendment doesn’t just discriminate against poor people by cutting them off from abortion access. The Hyde amendment and similar provisions apply to anyone who gets their health care through the federal government.

If you are in the military, employed by the government, incarcerated in federal prison, or if you receive health care through the federal Indian Health Service, you are cut off from abortion access.

Before 1976, abortion care was covered under federal Medicaid as part of standard medical care—as it should be, because abortion is health care. Biden’s commitment to doing away with Hyde demonstrates a commitment to providing health-care services on a nondiscriminatory basis.

Forcing low-income people to bear children they either do not want or cannot afford to have is cruel. Studies show that low-income people who are forced to carry unwanted pregnancies to term are pushed further into poverty.

By refusing to provide the full range of health-care services to low-income people, Joe Manchin is ensuring they’ll remain impoverished. He’s thrown his lot in with the conservatives who want poor people to keep having children but who refuse them any assistance in childrearing.

Over 500,000 West Virginians rely on Medicaid for health insurance coverage. Sen. Manchin’s position would deny those residents (and all Medicaid recipients!) access to comprehensive health care.

And because Sen. Manchin sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, his refusal to support ending Hyde means it will be very difficult for Democrats to advance a budget with Hyde’s restrictions unless Manchin changes his mind. This is not good news!