-
White House, Congressional Democratic Leaders push for votes on pro-abortion health care bills!
- Oct 5, 2009 at 4:53 PM
- By
- Comments (3) Total Views (42) Everyone can see this journal post.
http://www.capwiz.com/nrlc/issues/alert/?alertid=13157881&type=CO
To send e-mails to your representatives in Congress, and for other suggestions on how you can take immediate and effective action on this issue, scroll to the bottom of this update.
WASHINGTON (Updated September 30, 2009) – Both houses of Congress are pushing towards votes on sweeping "health care reform" bills that currently contain far-reaching pro-abortion provisions. Despite public statements by President Obama that "no federal dollars will be used to fund abortion," all of the major bills under consideration would put the federal government into the business of subsidizing elective abortion on a huge scale -- which would be a drastic break from longstanding federal policy.
(The legislative situation can change rapidly, so check this page regularly for the latest status.)
In the House of Representatives, three committees have approved a massive bill (H.R. 3200) that would create a federal government insurance plan (the "public plan") that would be explicitly authorized to fund all abortions, with federal funds. In addition, the bill creates a premium subsidy program to help tens of millions of Americans buy health insurance, which would also use federal funds to subsidize the purchase of private insurance plans that cover elective abortion.
The bills are being pushed hard by President Obama and by top Democratic congressional leaders, including pro-abortion House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nv.). The Democrats hold majority control of both the House and the Senate, occupying about three-fifths of the seats in each house. No congressional Republican has yet endorsed any of the bills being pushed by Democratic leaders.
In the House, the Democratic leadership bill, H.R. 3200, has been approved by three different committees. All three committees voted down NRLC-backed amendments to prevent the bills from mandating coverage of abortions and to prevent federal subsidies for abortions, as only a few Democrats joined the minority Republican members in support of the amendments.
On one of those three committees, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the pro-abortion side narrowly won adoption of a "phony compromise" amendment written by staff to Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Ca.) and offered by Rep. Lois Capps (D-Ca.). (Both Waxman and Capps have solidly pro-abortion career records.) The Capps-Waxman Amendment would explicitly authorize coverage of all elective abortions under the giant new "public plan" that the bill would create, and also would allow federal subsidies to flow to private insurance plans that cover elective abortions.
The pro-abortion members of the committee voted down an NRLC-backed amendment offered by Reps. Bart Stupak (D-Mi.) and Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) to prohibit federal subsidies from going to plans that cover elective abortions. Congressman Stupak has vowed that he will demand a vote on the pro-life amendment on the House floor, but Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Ca.) and other top House Democratic leaders are resisting this demand.
In the Senate, the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee approved the "Affordable Health Choices Act" (S. 1679) on July 15, on a 13-10 party line vote. The committee voted down all pro-life amendments.
"The bill approved by the Senate HELP Committee would result in the greatest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade," said NRLC Legislative Director Johnson. "It would result in federally mandated coverage of abortion by nearly all health plans, federally mandated recruitment of abortionists by local health networks, and nullification of many state abortion laws. It would also result in federal funding of abortion on a massive scale."
The Senate Finance Committee is crafting a second health care bill, the "America's Healthy Future Act," crafted by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mt.). The bill contains an array of pro-abortion mandates and subsidies, and also provisions that could greatly endanger the lives of senior citizens. On September 30, 2009, the Finance Committee defeated two pro-life amendments to the bill, offered by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). To view the NRLC statement issued after the committee votes, click here. To see a roster of the members of the Finance Committee, click here.
If the Finance Committee ultimately approves a version of the Baucus bill, it will then be up to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nv.) to combine the HELP and Finance bills into a single bill, which the full Senate will take up, perhaps in late October.
Obtaining broad federal subsidies for abortion as part of “health care reform” is currently the top priority of many pro-abortion organizations, such as the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). These organizations are pushing for the abortion mandates both in public statements and in less visible lobbying efforts. In April, the president of PPFA said that her organization intends to use the health care legislation as a "platform" to guarantee "access" to abortion to "all women." Likewise, the National Abortion Federation, an association of abortion providers, said, "NAF supports health care reform as a way to increase access to comprehensive reproductive health care, including abortion care, for all women."
On July 17, 2007, during Barack Obama's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, he appeared before the annual conference of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Speaking of his plans for "health care reform," Obama said, "in my mind, reproductive care is essential care. It is basic care, and so it is at the center and at the heart of the plan that I propose." He stated that, "What we're doing is to say that we're going to set up a public plan that all persons and all women can access if they don't have health insurance. It'll be a plan that will provide all essential services, including reproductive services." Under his plan, Obama explained, people could choose to keep their existing private health care plans, but "insurers are going to have to abide by the same rules in terms of providing comprehensive care, including reproductive care ... that's going to be absolutely vital." (You can view a video of Obama's remarks here. You can view a review of what Obama said by the independent group Politifact.org here.)
NRLC has actively challenged misinformation about the health care bills in newspapers and websites across the land. To see some recent examples, "They Say, We Say," click here.
To view or download a two-page summary of key points, click here (PDF file). To view a memorandum explaining why the current law called the Hyde Amendment will not prevent government funding of abortion under H.R. 3200, click here. To view a memorandum rebutting the myth that only "private" funds would be used to pay for the abortions, click here
Want to leave a comment and join the discussion?
Already a member? Click here to log in
short of a few loonies locked up in mental hospitals there is not such thing as PRO ABORTION.
- sati769leigh
Message Friend Invite