Democratic Louisiana governor asks DNC to support ban on federal funding of abortions

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Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards on Friday petitioned the Democratic National Committee to support the Hyde Amendment in its official platform.

Edwards, joined by a number of anti-abortion Democrats, including Illinois Rep. Dan Lipinski and Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson, said in an open letter to the DNC that the party is “alienating voters” because “many Democratic leaders support policies on abortion that are radically out of line with public opinion.”

“When Democratic leaders support late-term abortion, they push many voters into the arms of the Republican Party,” the letter said. “Many people holding pro-life views are single-issue voters.”

The group asked that, in writing the 2020 platform, the DNC revert to positions it held at the beginning of the century, namely that people have “differing and deeply held views on abortion.” It urged the DNC to avoid “divisive” policies such as “codifying Roe v. Wade” and “repealing the Hyde Amendment.”

“We should not cede large swathes of the United States to the Republican Party,” the letter concluded. “In the US, pro-life Democrats have been a critical part of the coalition to expand voting rights, improve health care, and pass criminal justice reform. These accomplishments would not have been possible if the Democratic Party had in place a litmus test on abortion.”

The letter flies in the face of former Vice President Joe Biden’s recent positions on abortion. Biden, in 2019, flipped on the Hyde Amendment, which bars most federal funding for abortions, after pressure from the then-crowded Democratic field, including his now-running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris.

The Trump campaign has repeatedly used Biden’s position on the Hyde Amendment against him, with Vice President Mike Pence often characterizing it as a policy of the “radical Left” in his campaign stump speeches.

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