Bill de Blasio ‘Appalled’ By Joe Biden’s Support For Hyde Amendment
In an interview broadcast Thursday, New York City Mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, Bill de Blasio, said that he is “appalled” by fellow Democrat Joe Biden’s support for the Hyde Amendment, The Hill reports.
The mayor’s remarks come following reports that Biden — who has a mixed record on abortion — is a supporter of the Hyde Amendment. Writing about Biden’s “evolution on abortion rights,” NBC News reported earlier this week that the former vice president is still against repealing the 40-year-old ban on using federal money to fund abortion services, except in extraordinary circumstances.
Biden’s campaign officially confirmed to both The Hill and NBC News that the Delaware Democrat supports the controversial amendment, even though he has been sending mixed signals about the issue.
But according to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Biden’s support for the anti-abortion amendment is unacceptable.
“I could not disagree more with [Biden] and I’m appalled, honestly, that someone who wants to be the Democratic nominee in this day and age is still supporting the Hyde Amendment,” he said.
“The Hyde Amendment basically says that there’s a lot of American women who will not have the right to choose.”
The mayor blasted Biden, stating that the amendment is “not in step with the majority of the members of the Democratic Party, and it’s not in step with the majority of Americans.”
Mayor de Blasio is not the first Democratic presidential candidate to criticize the front-runner’s stance on abortion. Progressives Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have both pledged to repeal the amendment, according to The Hill, as has Pete Buttigieg, according to The Daily Beast.
California Senator Kamala Harris has done the same, writing on Twitter that the controversial legislative provision must be repealed. As Axios reported, Beto O’Rourke said that Biden is “absolutely wrong” about the issue.
Bill de Blasio blasts Joe Biden on Fox News https://t.co/jBshBchj5w pic.twitter.com/tmeP1tdG1Q
— The Hill (@thehill) June 6, 2019
On the heels of the Hyde Amendment controversy, The Intercept revealed that Biden had, working closely with a conservative religious group, “repeatedly sought to undermine the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate.” As the publication notes, early in his career, Biden was openly anti-abortion.
To those familiar with Biden’s voting record, his support for the Hyde Amendment comes as no surprise — the former vice president is arguably the most conservative Democrat in the race.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, while some have expected a progressive, left-wing candidate to surge in the polls due to the Democratic Party’s supposed shift leftward, that has not happened. Biden has been and remains the front-runner, crushing opponents in virtually all polls conducted thus far.
