Abortion in Health Care Reform: Facts and Fabrications
- Aug 25, 2009 - 1
The question of abortion in health care reform—namely whether or not it will be covered under the Obama-backed plan—has turned into a political tug-of-war. One side claims it’s in there, while the other contends it’s not. The facts, however, remain unchanged: Abortions will be covered with taxpayer dollars under the plan moving through Congress.
The latest reputable source to affirm this is Factcheck.org, which acknowledges it “take[s] no position on whether the legislation should allow or not allow coverage for abortions.” In an Aug. 21 analysis, Factcheck.org concluded that “it’s a matter of fact that [the House bill] would allow both a ‘public plan’ and newly subsidized private plans to cover all abortions.” Two weeks earlier, the Associated Press headlined a similar verdict, and Time magazine has also followed step.
The nonpartisan Factcheck.org’s critique comes in response to President Obama’s statements in a teleconference last week organized by liberal faith leaders in which he sowed further confusion into the public’s mind on the issue. The president called it a “fabrication” and “not true” that “this is all going to mean government funding of abortion.”
Yet the facts speak for themselves. As we have stressed for weeks, the House bill (H.R. 3200) explicitly allows abortion to be covered under the adopted Capps Amendment. The Fackcheck.org assessment only gives further credence to ERLC President Richard Land’s sentiment following the teleconference: “If, as the president alleges, abortion is not to be considered a covered procedure in any government option, what’s the problem with specifically saying so by excluding it in the legislative language?”
Sure, it is a fact that the word “abortion” appears nowhere in the bill. But neither do “appendectomy” or “tonsillectomy.” Unless specifically stated otherwise, abortion will be included among hundreds of procedures covered. We learned this lesson from 1973-1976, when roughly 300,000 abortions were funded each year by the government’s purse before Congress passed the Hyde Amendment, which bars taxpayer-funding of abortion under Medicaid except in rare instances. No such amendment applies to the health care reform bill.
This is telling in light of the fact that the Democratic majorities on both House and Senate committees have defeated amendment after amendment—seven in all—to exclude abortion coverage from the health care plan.
What would this mean? Taxpayers would be squarely positioned to fund abortions, violating the will of 69 percent of Americans who say they oppose using tax dollars for abortions, according to a 2008 Zogby poll. And many suggest it would result in the largest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade.
The facts on abortion in health care must not be ignored or brushed off as fabrications. If you share our concerns, please tell your congressman and senators that any health care bill should explicitly state that private insurers cannot be forced to cover abortions, nor can funds be used to subsidize abortions in a government plan. Congress cannot be reminded enough.
Download the ERLC’s analysis of the House health care reform bill (H.R. 3200) here (280 KB PDF).
Download the House health care reform bill (H.R. 3200) in its entirety here (1.8 MB PDF).
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1 On Aug 31st, 2009, at 5:47pm, Kemper Lawson wrote:
years ago I left the Democrat Party when it became apparent they were pro abort. The
blood of innocent babies cry out to GOD from
the ground.