One of the more controversial planks in the Democratic Party platform is the call for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment so that there can be full taxpayer funding of abortion. This is a remarkable change from just four years ago.

The Hyde Amendment is named for Representative Henry Hyde and prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion (except in cases of the mother’s life or rape or incest). It was passed by Congress in 1976 and signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in 1977. Even as recently as 2010 when Congress was debating the Affordable Care Act, President Obama did not call for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment. He even promised pro-life Democrats that the new law would not use federal funds for abortion.

Apparently much has changed since then. The Democratic Party Platform this year says: “We will continue to oppose—and seek to overturn—federal and state laws and policies that impede a woman’s access to abortion, including repealing the Hyde Amendment.”

More than six in ten (63%) Americans say they oppose taxpayer funding of abortion. This includes nearly half (45%) of pro-choice Americans and significant percentages of African-Americans (65%) as well as Hispanic-Americans (61%). This is not a popular stand with most Americans.

Let’s be honest, in our pluralistic society all Americans can find something objectionable that the federal government funds with their tax dollars. Even though we don’t like how our money is used, we don’t allow a taxpayer veto of the use of their tax money. But we also recognize that abortion is a special case. The Supreme Court might have made abortion legal, but that does not mean that we should force all Americans to pay for the immoral act of abortion.

I think it is highly unlikely that Congress will seriously consider repealing the Hyde Amendment any time soon. Nevertheless, this plank in the Democratic Party platform illustrates how radical Democrat Party leaders are and what they hope to someday accomplish in Congress.