Abortion rights group ‘deeply disappointed’ by Obama budget

A prominent reproductive rights group expressed its dissatisfaction with President Obama’s budget Thursday, saying it “abandons millions of women.”

The Center for Reproductive Rights (CPR), an abortion rights organization, said it is “deeply disappointed” that Obama’s budget left in place the so-called “Hyde Amendment,” which bars federal funding for most abortions.

“At a time in our nation’s history when Americans at every income level are losing their jobs and their health benefits, guaranteeing access to affordable, quality healthcare, including reproductive healthcare, is imperative,” CPR President Nancy Northup said in a statement. “Abortion is the only medically necessary health service excluded from Medicaid coverage. Failure to provide that service — a service that only women need — is discrimination.”

Northup pointed to Obama’s stated opposition to the Hyde Amendment while on the presidential campaign trail, which she characterized as “unjust.”

The group, however, did praise the Obama budget for eliminating funding for abstinence-only sex education, which Northup said would protect teenagers’ “fundamental right” to accurate and objective health information.