{"id":30474,"date":"2026-01-12T16:14:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T21:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=30474"},"modified":"2026-01-12T16:14:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T21:14:35","slug":"trump-faces-pro-life-backlash-after-suggesting-flexibility-on-hyde-amendment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/01\/trump-faces-pro-life-backlash-after-suggesting-flexibility-on-hyde-amendment","title":{"rendered":"Trump Faces Pro-Life Backlash After Suggesting \u2018Flexibility\u2019 on Hyde Amendment"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Loredana Sangiuliano \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

President Trump\u2019s supporters offered a rare rebuke after he suggested<\/a> being \u201cflexible\u201d on the Hyde Amendment in order to reach a deal on Affordable Care Act premiums (ACA). President Trump made the remark at a Republican retreat for the House of Representatives at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Congress is currently debating healthcare policy after ACA subsidies expired. Health policy researcher KFF found that premiums for those who access ACA through the marketplace could rise 114% following the expiration of tax credits.Trump suggested that Congress should \u201clet the money go directly to the people.\u201d \u201cYou have to be a little flexible on Hyde,\u201d suggested the President. \u201cYou got to be a little flexible. You got to work something. You got to use ingenuity. You got to work. We\u2019re all big fans of everything, but you got to be flexible, you have to have flexibility,\u201d he said.\u00a0The Hyde amendment prevents federal funds from being used on abortions.<\/p>\n

The comment did not sit well with Trump\u2019s pro-life supporters. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, released a statement<\/a> condemning the suggestion. \u201cFor decades, opposition to taxpayer funding of abortion and support for the Hyde Amendment has been an unshakeable bedrock principle and a minimum standard in the Republican Party,\u201d wrote Dannenfelser. \u201cTo suggest Republicans should be \u2018flexible\u2019 is an abandonment of this decades-long commitment. If Republicans abandon Hyde, they are sure to lose this November.\u201d She suggested that compromising with Democrats on Hyde would be \u201ca massive betrayal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of Toledo, Ohio, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops\u2019 Committee on Pro-life Activities, also released a statement supporting the Hyde Amendment. \u201cAuthentic health care upholds the dignity of all human life, and health care policy must not violate this dignity. In upholding this core principle, the U.S. bishops have long opposed any proposals to expand taxpayer funding of abortion and will continue to do so, including, if necessary, in the current debates in Congress over health care affordability plans,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWe urge Congress to work creatively to enact legislation that does not compromise the dignity of the human person and that ensures access to authentic, life-affirming care.\u201d<\/p>\n

After receiving pressure, the White House appeared to waffle on the suggestion, with US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt affirming President Trump\u2019s support of the Hyde Amendment. \u201cThe president did not change the administration\u2019s policy. It was President Trump who signed an executive order protecting the Hyde Amendment. It\u2019s the Trump administration that has taken multiple actions on various fronts to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not funding the practice of abortion.\u201d She stated the president\u2019s intention was that Republicans and Democrats would have to be flexible on a healthcare deal. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a pro-life advocate, also affirmed the House had no intentions of softening Hyde. \u201cWe are not going to change the standard that we\u2019re not going to use taxpayer funding for abortion,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just not going to allow that to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Trump\u2019s supporters offered a rare rebuke after he suggested being \u201cflexible\u201d on the Hyde Amendment in order to reach a deal on Affordable Care Act premiums (ACA). President Trump made the remark at a Republican retreat for the House of Representatives at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Congress is currently…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":30480,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump Faces Pro-Life Backlash After Suggesting \u2018Flexibility\u2019 on Hyde Amendment<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pro-life leaders rebuke President Trump after he suggests \u201cflexibility\u201d on the Hyde Amendment during health care negotiations.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/01\/trump-faces-pro-life-backlash-after-suggesting-flexibility-on-hyde-amendment\" \/>\n<meta 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rebuke President Trump after he suggests \u201cflexibility\u201d on the Hyde Amendment during health care negotiations.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/01\/trump-faces-pro-life-backlash-after-suggesting-flexibility-on-hyde-amendment","og_site_name":"Beliefnet News","article_published_time":"2026-01-12T21:14:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/140\/2026\/01\/Pro-Life_credit-Loredana-Sangiuliano-Shutterstock.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cecilia Buchanan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/01\/trump-faces-pro-life-backlash-after-suggesting-flexibility-on-hyde-amendment","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2026\/01\/trump-faces-pro-life-backlash-after-suggesting-flexibility-on-hyde-amendment","name":"Trump Faces Pro-Life Backlash After 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