Pro-Life Groups Call For End Of Tax Deductions For Abortion
Americans United for Life and other prolife groups call on Trump and the GOP to retain Hyde Amendment protections, and not scorn the voters who put them in office.
In states where abortion is legal, having one is considered tax-deductible “health care” on both federal and state income tax returns. CatholicVote Action Center is calling on Americans to urge President Trump to reform the tax code and eliminate the tax deduction.
Immediately following the 1973 Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade – and without any hearings or votes in Congress – the Internal Revenue Service revised its long-standing definition of deductible health care expenses under §213(d) to include abortion. This amounts to a federal subsidy for abortions in states where abortion is legal.
In a press release from CatholicVote Action Center, CatholicVote CEO Kelsey Reinhardt stated, “This undermines the basic moral consensus, which transcends party lines, that Americans should not be compelled to fund abortion with their tax dollars.” She went on to say, “In his first term, President Trump defended that line clearly and consistently. We are asking him to do so again, and rescind this egregious IRS provision. It has to stop.”
With the annual March for Life in Washington, DC, just days away on Friday, January 23, Reinhardt called on Americans to visit the CatholicVote Action Center website to send a prewritten email directly to the White House urging Trump to take action.
“Abortion is not health care and the IRS has no competency to declare that it is. The code was changed by bureaucrats behind closed doors. Most Americans don’t even know they are subsidizing abortion in this way,” Reinhardt said. “President Trump has the opportunity to correct this awful practice and save lives. We implore him to do so.”
During a speech last week to House Republicans at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Trump urged them to show flexibility regarding Hyde Amendment abortion restrictions. He suggested that tackling rising health care costs could help the GOP in the midterm elections, urging flexibility on abortion funding restrictions by saying, “Now you have to be a little flexible on Hyde,” and adding, “You got to be a little flexible… You got to work something. You got to use ingenuity.” His remarks came amid negotiations to renew expired Affordable Care Act subsidies, as data from KFF warn of sharp premium increases in 2026 that would significantly raise costs for millions of Americans, particularly lower- and middle-income families. Pew Research data underscore the potential impact on Catholics, noting that 36% of Catholic households earn under $50,000, including 18% below the poverty line for a family of four.
In response, a coalition of major pro-life groups sent a letter of protest to the president. The letter from Americans United for Life, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Students for Life of America and others last week called on Trump and House and Senate GOP leaders to retain protections against Affordable Care Act subsidies being used to pay for abortion. “You must protect human life by applying Hyde Amendment principles. You must prohibit funding of elective abortions and plans that include abortion,” the groups wrote. “Americans elected a Republican trifecta in 2024, and Congress should not now scorn their widespread support by forcing Americans to fund abortion through a ‘flexibility’ on Hyde,” the letter stated.