Pro-life law has saved more than two million lives since 1976 - study

A new study has revealed that the Hyde Amendment, which limits federal funding of abortion, has saved over two million lives since it was enacted in 1976.

The Hyde Amendment, which was introduced to the U.S. Congress by Rep. Henry Hyde on Sept. 30, 1976, has significantly reduced abortion rates through Medicaid funding restrictions, according to a study conducted by the Charlotte Lozier Institute.

The report states that the birthrate of women on Medicaid increased by about 13 percent since the Hyde Amendment was implemented in 1976.

The researchers cited a 2009 literature review by the Guttmacher Institute which examined 22 different studies on the topic of abortion. Nineteen of those studies reveal that abortion rates fell when Medicaid funding decreased.

The report reveals that a total of 2.13 million lives were saved between 1976 and 2015. The study accounted for the years when the Hyde Amendment was not in full effect. The amendment did not take effect at all in 1976 and it was only partially implemented during 1977 and 1980 due to legal challenges.

The study acknowledges that the Hyde Amendment is not the only reason for the decrease in abortions. It has noted that other pro-life laws and shifts in public opinion are also significant factors in the decline of abortion rates in America. It also mentioned that there are more unintended pregnancies that are being carried to term in the past few years.

Genevieve Plaster, a senior policy analyst at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, highlighted the impact of the Hyde Amendment at the Sept. 23 hearing on Capitol Hill.

"The Hyde Amendment has saved more than two million lives since 1976," Plaster stated at the hearing, adding,"Two million Americans – that's approximately the entire population of the city of Houston, the fourth largest city in the U.S."

"Two million Americans is the entire population of the state of New Mexico. Two million Americans is the sum of the entire combined populations of Rhode Island and Delaware," she added.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has vowed to repeal the amendment if she is elected. Her campaign website states, "She will repeal the Hyde amendment to ensure low-income women have access to safe reproductive health care."

In contrast, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has promised to make the Hyde Amendment a "permanent law to protect taxpayers from having to pay for abortions."