There are two important amendments in the pro-life world–the Helms Amendment and the Hyde Amendment. It is important to know what they are, but it is also easy to get them confused.
The Helms Amendment (proposed by Senator Jesse Helms in response to Roe v. Wade) was passed in 1973 as an amendment to the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act that prohibited funds from paying for abortions in other countries. This is the text of the amendment:
SEC. 114. LIMITING USE OF FUNDS FOR ABORTIONS.—None of the funds made available to carry out this part shall be used to pay for the performance of abortions as a method of family planning or to motivate or coerce any person to practice abortions.
The Hyde Amendment (proposed by Representative Henry Hyde) prohibits funds for domestic abortions and it has to be attached to annual appropriations bills, specifically to the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. It has a long history and changed form several times.
