The Facts Please

Unlike the hysteria of last year about "OBAMACARE" (there were actually a score or so plans being proposed by legislators that came down two Bills at the end of the year) we now actually have a plan that the President has taken ownership of and discussed with legislators this week. It purports to be a combining of the Senate and House bills with additional features to make it more fiscally conservative.

I heard only a portion of the discussion but I did hear both the President and Representative Pelosi claim that the new proposal would prohibit the spending of tax dollars for abortions. Since they also said their plan did not include the Stupak Amendment (found in the House Bill) in this matter but rather the language from the Senate Bill their claim was incorrect. Americans United for Life, one of the calmer and more rigorous researcher of facts on this human rights issue, has an analysis of the facts found , not in the political pronouncements, but in the text of the bills at issue.

Click here to view the information and analysis.

Speaker Pelosi and the Senate Bill refer to the Hyde Amendment which prohibits tax dollars being spent on abortion in Medicare as the "status qua" and claim that its provisions will remain. The Stupak Amendment prohibits the spending of tax dollars for the provision of abortions under the federal mandates and funding of this reform.

Since we heard several proposals to end Medicare at the recent conservative (TP & CPAC) conferences and the abortion lobby has plenty of resources to twist political arms the reliance on a weak link between Medicare (Public Health Care Insurance) and the reformed rules for private health care and health insurance it is not sufficient to assure the prohibition to the use of our federal tax dollars for abortion in the long run.

At least 70% of Americans oppose the use of their tax dollars for abortions. I think politicians of all parties need to take the views of this majority seriously. Despite the PR of the abortion lobby and the claims of some popular commentators, the Stupak Amendment DOES NOT outlaw abortion or "choice". It does, however, protect citizens from being forced to pay for abortions.