Equalize Abortion

IF YOU'RE POOR and need an abortion, don't count on getting any federal aid to help pay for the operation. With the House's approval last week of a law banning the use of federal funds for abortions, the so-called Hyde Amendment is almost certain to win Congressional passage, as it has every year for the past seven. Certainly, Ronald Reagan is not likely to veto the measure.

The amendment's passage rarely draws much comment; papers carried only slight, if any, notice of the House veto. But the provision's familiarity should not obscure its fundamental unfairness. The amendment was unjust when initially introduced by Rep. Henry Hyde (D.-III) in 1976, and it remains so today.

Supreme Court rulings upholding legalized abortion, first in 1973 and again this summer, reflect the belief that women have the right to choose whether or not to bear a child. Nor did these rulings buck a tide of populist opposition; polls have shown that a majority of Americans believe women should be able to opt for an abortion.

But, as with so many freedoms, "Choice" becomes a travesty to those without the dollars to exercise it. Safe abortions can be prohibitively expensive for poor women if they are denied the assistance of Medicaid or other federal funds. The point of this assistance is not to promote abortion as an inexpensive form of birth control--few if any women would take the operation so lightly, and schools must continue their efforts to educate young people about sex and birth control so they will not be confronted with such a painful decision. Rather, federal assistance would ensure that when a potentially tragic situation arises, abortion is a realistic alternative for the underprivileged.

FEW WOULD ARGUE that abortion is a positive good, but many do concede it is the least bad solution to an unwanted pregnancy. Often, ironically, the poverty that precludes paying for an abortion is an overriding concern that prompts women to seek one. If abortion is the right of a young professional, it may be a necessity for an unemployed and unwed mother.

We urge the Senate to vote against this latest annual resuscitation of the anti-abortion provision. Failing that, the Senate should at least block this year's insidious addition--a new stipulation that all abortions, even those cases in which the mother's life is in jeopardy, be denied federal funds.

The Hyde Amendment is a bone to pro-life activists who seek a constitutional ban on abortion. But legalized abortion is the law of the land and so long as it is the right of some citizens, it should be the right of all.