New Poll Shows 2nd Congressional District
Opposes the Taxpayer Funding of Abortion

Congressman Troy Carter Should Oppose
Taxpayer-Funded Abortions and Save the Hyde Amendment

Since 1976, Americans have been protected from funding the overwhelming majority of abortions with their tax dollars through the Hyde Amendment, a federal budget rider that must be applied to the budget each and every year to ensure that Medicaid dollars cannot pay for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and the life of the mother.

It was estimated that before the Hyde Amendment took effect the Medicaid program was paying for about 300,000 elective abortions annually, and the number was escalating rapidly. The Hyde Amendment is estimated to have saved more than 2.4 million lives.

But now the Hyde Amendment is at risk.

President Biden’s proposed Fiscal Year 2022 Budget does not include the Hyde Amendment, and Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives have been insistent on approving a budget that does not include the Hyde Amendment. If the budget is adopted without the Hyde Amendment, all abortions performed on Medicaid-eligible women would be funded by the tax dollars of Americans for the first time since 1976.

In Louisiana, all members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, except newly-elected Congressman Troy Carter, have committed to supporting the Hyde Amendment by opposing any federal budget without it.

Congressman Carter was elected to the 2nd Congressional District in a special election this year after Congressman Cedric Richmond went to work in the White House. Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District encompasses most of New Orleans’ east and west banks and portions of Jefferson Parish, the River Parishes, East Baton Rouge Parish and West Baton Rouge Parish.

Congressman Richmond had a 100% pro-abortion voting record. Congressman Carter ran for office in support of abortion and had a voting record in favor of abortion while serving as a State Senator in Baton Rouge. However, from time to time, Carter was known to vote in favor of pro-life legislation that could be considered “common ground.” For example, in 2016 he supported HB 606 that prohibited entities that perform abortions, or contracted with those who perform abortions, from receiving public funding.

We believe the Hyde Amendment is exactly the type of “common-ground” policy that is needed in Washington D.C. today. Americans may have a variety of opinions on abortion, but we should come together to say that abortion should not be paid for with the tax dollars of hard working Americans. Nationally, a 2021 Marist poll found that nearly six in 10 Americans, including even more than one-third of those who identify as pro-choice, oppose the use of their taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions.  Even more, for years bipartisan officials have supported the Hyde Amendment. Even President Biden supported the Hyde Amendment when he served in the U.S. Senate.

It is widely considered the the 2nd Congressional District is a strongly pro-abortion district. But recent polling shows otherwise. And this polling shows that a majority of the 2nd Congressional District oppose the taxpayer funding of abortion.

In a poll* commissioned by Louisiana Right to Life and Louisiana Black Advocates for Life in July of the 2nd Congressional District, the results were striking for a Democratic “pro-abortion” district.

• Question 1: “Do you think taxpayer funds should be used to provide abortion services?”
  
  • 51% opposed taxpayer funds for abortion, while only 31% support it. 18% said they were “not sure” of their answer.
  • Without a doubt, a majority of the 2nd CD opposes the tax funding of abortion.
• Question 2: “On the issue of abortion, do you consider yourself to be Pro-Life or Pro-Choice?”
  • 44% of the 2nd CD identified as “pro-choice,” 42% identified as “pro-life,” and 14% were “not sure.”
  • This provides two interesting insights into the district.
    • First, the 2nd CD is not nearly as pro-abortion as the New Orleans Democratic politicians would have you believe.  Remember, the respondents are only part of the 2nd CD, so not including more conservative areas of Orleans Parish that would be in the 1st CD.
    • Second, this result, combined with the answer above, shows that people who are both pro-choice and pro-life oppose the taxpayer funding of abortion, since 44% were pro-choice, yet 51% oppose tax funding of abortion.
• Question 3: “Which of the following statements best describes your own position on the issue of abortion?”
  • If you combine the responses of the first three groups, you find that 60% of the district oppose either all abortions or abortions in rare circumstances, such as rape, incest, and the life of the mother. Currently, the Hyde Amendment, as changed by President Clinton in the 1990s, allows for tax funding of abortions through Medicaid in case of rape, incest, and the life of the mother. So 60% of the 2nd CD already oppose all of the abortions that could be funded by tax dollars if the Hyde Amendment is jettisoned by Congress.
  • What is even more amazing is that the voting record of former Congressman Richmond, and possibly now Congressman Carter, is only in line with a slim 6% of the district that would support abortion at any point during pregnancy. Congressman Richmond even opposed bills that would have protected against late-term abortion. Simply put, the politicians representing the 2nd Congressional District are MUCH more pro-abortion than the citizens of the 2nd Congressional District. The citizens of the 2nd CD must stand up and tell their elected officials that their voting record is out of line with the beliefs of its citizens!

Now is the time for the 2nd CD to make its voice heard. Congressman Carter has a history of voting for “common-ground” legislation on abortion, and polling data shows that his district opposes taxpayer funding of abortion. If there was ever a time for a Congressman of the 2nd CD to find common ground on abortion, the Hyde Amendment is it.

Citizens can take action by contacting Congressman Carter IMMEDIATELY to ask him to oppose any legislation or federal budget that would weaken or eliminate the Hyde Amendment and any other protection against the taxpayer funding of abortion.  It is possible that votes would begin on this matter as soon as Tuesday, July 27!

• Call Congressman Carter’s office at (202) 225-6636.
• Email Congressman Carter at this link.

Please take action and spread the word!

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* Remington Research Groups Survey conducted July 10-12, 2021. 800 likely voters living in the 2nd Congressional District participated in the survey. Survey weighted to match expected turnout demographics for the 2022 General Election. Margin of Error is +/-3.3% with a 95% level of confidence. Download the entire poll here.