Stop Taxpayer Funded Abortion
President Obama is pushing hard for passage of massive “health care reform” by late July. Democratic leadership in both houses are working with breathtaking speed to comply with the President’s request. As support for such reform is waning, according to recent polls, it becomes increasingly apparent that the speed is necessary to avoid close examination of the fine print.
So far, two massive health care bills are progressing, the Kennedy bill in the Senate, and the House Democratic leadership bill. Each contains provisions that would, if enacted, represent the greatest expansion of abortion since the Supreme Court handed down its Roe v. Wade ruling in l973. These bills contain multiple provisions that would result in federally mandated insurance coverage of abortion on demand, massive federal subsidies for abortion, mandates for creation of many new abortion clinics, and nullification of at least some state limitations on abortion.
The pro-abortion movement sees health care reform as a golden opportunity to impose sweeping pro-abortion mandates in the health care delivery system, and doing so is a top priority of many pro-abortion organizations.
In April, the president of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards, said that her organization intends to use the health care legislation as a “platform” to guarantee access to abortion to “all women.” 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 1, the Rev. Carlton W. Veazey, president of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, sent out an alert stating that “Reproductive healthcare, including abortion services, is an essential component of women’s health, and we must act now to make sure women get a fair shake in the final healthcare reform bill.” Nancy Keenan, president of the pro-abortion advocacy group NARAL, said in an interview released July 7, said “I am very optimistic about reproductive health care being part of this entire package. “
Both the House and the Senate bills would empower federal officials to mandate coverage of and access to specific medical services. The two bills reflect the commitment made by Barack Obama to Planned Parenthood in an appearance on July 17, 2007, in which he said “in my mind, reproductive care is essential care, basic care, so it is at the center, the heart of the plan that I propose.” Under Obama’s plan, people may keep their existing private health care plans, but he says “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.”
If President Obama, congressional Democratic leaders, and the pro-abortion advocacy groups were to succeed in mandating vast expansions of access to abortion, with federal funding, the predictable result would be a great increase in the number of abortions performed – this, from a president who assured the American people, and most recently the Pope, that he would pursue policies to reduce abortions. Congress must act now and explicitly exclude abortion from any government mandated coverage or taxpayer funded health plan. The message is clear: stop taxpayer funded abortion.