in the annual federal Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations act from being used to fund abortions, but it must be reauthorized every year during the passage of this appropriations act. Since the Hyde Amendment is not permanent and only applies to the funds allocated in this specific appropriations act, it would not have any overriding power in the new health care reform legislation. The Hyde Amendment focuses on restricting abortion funding through the Medicare and Medicaid programs and does not address any other areas of abortion funding. Therefore, if the Hyde Amendment was applied to the new health care bill, it would only affect the funding of abortions through the Medicare and Medicaid programs and would not address the new provisions for abortion funding as laid out in the new health care bill. This is why the Stupak-Pitts Amendment is essential in maintaining the restrictions on federally funding abortions. The Stupak-Pitts Amendment is act specific, just like the Hyde Amendment, but it takes into account and prevents the new provisions from funding abortions. While conducting research on the various opinions regarding the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, it is important to pay attention to what the American people want. After all, this country is a representative democracy and the government is supposed to be acting in the interests of the people. Therefore, the question is whether the American people want federal funds to go towards funding abortion. According to a poll released in November 2009 (the time the Stupak-Pitts Amendment was being debated by Congress) the answer is no. The Pew Research Service reported, “A 55% majority of Americans say that abortion should not be included as a guaranteed medical benefit if the government health care reform plan passes” (Abortion Plays Small Role 2009). Only “28% say it should be included” (Abortion Plays Small Role 2009). This should come as no surprise since the American people‟s views on abortion have not fluctuated much since 1975. A Gallup poll reports that 53% of Americans in 1975 and 55% of Americans in 2009 felt that abortion should only be legal under certain circumstances (Saad 2010). The Pew Research Service also reports that “Seven in ten (72%) of those who oppose the legislation say coverage of abortion should not be included in government benefits” (Abortion Plays Small Role 2009). However, “Even among Americans who favor health care reform, a 46% plurality says abortion should not be included in government benefits, while 35% say it should be”(Abortion Plays Small Role 2009). In fact, when the poll released by Pew Research Services addressed the main reason for being in opposition to the health care reform bill, 56% reported that their main concern was that the health care bill might pay for abortion (Abortion Plays Small Role 2009). These results give a sense of where the American people stand when it comes to using federal money to pay for abortions. Sadly, the American people‟s interests were not accurately represented in the final version of the health care bill because the final version did not include the Stupak-Pitts Amendment. However, President Barack Obama made a compromise with Congressman Bart Stupak, which left some people feeling more confident that the final version of the health care bill would not fund abortions. On Sunday March 21, 2010, President Barack Obama announced that he would issue an executive order to reaffirm the longstanding restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortion as set by the Hyde Amendment. As a result Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) changed his vote from being opposed to the bill to being in favor of, and ultimately voting for, the health care bill. Congressman Stupak‟s decision to change his vote solely on the issuance of an executive order is questionable.
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