Surprise: Tim Kaine caves on abortion, endorses repealing Hyde Amendment

Democratic vice-presidential pick Tim Kaine has privately told nominee Hillary Clinton he will support repeal of the Hyde Amendment, a 1976 provision that bans the use of federal dollars for abortion services, Clinton spokesman Jesse Ferguson and Kaine spokeswoman Amy Dudley said Tuesday.

The position is a reversal for Kaine, who earlier this month told the Weekly Standard, a conservative magazine, that he’s “traditionally been a supporter of the Hyde amendment.”

It aligns the Virginia senator with Clinton and other reproductive-rights advocates, who argue that the decades-old Hyde Amendment, which primarily affects Medicaid, is an impediment for low-income women seeking abortions.

The Democratic Party platform approved this week included a plank calling for repeal of the amendment and other measures that “impede a woman’s access to abortion.”