Abortion issue still clouding health care bill
By Jennifer J. Foster
Published: September 29, 2009
If all the sound bites about how the proposed overhaul of America’s health care system may or may not relate to the abortion issue, you’re not alone.
As I’ve said before, Congress could straighten this all out in a hurry by simply writing into the overhaul an extension—a continuation, actually—of a 30-year-old federal ban on taxpayer funding of elective abortions: Such a ban would remove the issue from the table, as it would preclude future congressional panels from being able to include abortion in any government-offered, -sponsored or -subsidized health care plan.
But Congress hasn’t done that. And considering that the speaker of the House is a liberal Democratic female from San Francisco, we have no reason to believe they actually might.
So the fight goes on ... and it’s coming to a head.
If you’re wondering what the bottom line is on all this, check out this excellent story from The New York Times. It surveys the issue in a broad and comprehensive way.
Here’s the operative excerpt:
Democratic Congressional leaders say the latest House and Senate health care bills preserve the spirit of the current ban on federal abortion financing by requiring insurers to segregate their public subsidies into separate accounts from individual premiums and co-payments. Insurers could use money only from private sources to pay for abortions.
But opponents say that is not good enough, because only a line on an insurers’ accounting ledger would divide the federal money from the payments for abortions. The subsidies would still help people afford health coverage that included abortion.
The Times also points out:
The question looms as a test of President Obama’s campaign pledge to support abortion rights but seek middle ground with those who do not. Mr. Obama has promised for months that the health care overhaul would not provide federal money to pay for elective abortions, but White House officials have declined to spell out what he means.
Interesting ... and so absolutely right. This is the president’s chance to put his policy where his mouth is.
The problem for the president is that he has run his mouth in both directions. For all his talk about making nice and finding common ground with pro-life Americans, this speech he gave on the campaign trail still rings out over the web.
Finally, guess who’s leading this fight to ensure that tax money isn’t spent on elective abortions?
U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, a Democrat from Michigan.
Yes, a pro-life Democrat. Contrary to popular belief, there are plenty of them:
At least 31 House Democrats have signed various recent letters to the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, urging her to allow a vote on a measure to restrict use of the subsidies to pay for abortion, including 25 who joined more than 100 Republicans on a letter delivered Monday.
Representative Bart Stupak of Michigan, a leading Democratic abortion opponent, said he had commitments from 40 Democrats to block the health care bill unless they have a chance to include the restrictions.
After months of pushing the issue, Mr. Stupak said in an interview, Mr. Obama finally called him 10 days ago. “He said: ‘Look, try to get this thing worked out among the Democrats. We want you to work it out within the party,’ ” Mr. Stupak said, adding that Mr. Obama did not say whether he supported the segregated-money provision or a more sweeping restriction. “We got his attention, which we never had before.”
After the president called, Mr. Stupak said, Ms. Pelosi agreed to meet with Mr. Stupak on Tuesday to discuss his proposals for the first time, her office confirmed. Her spokesman, Nadeam Elshami, said in a statement, “As we have throughout the process, we are meeting with our members to listen to their concerns, consulting with the administration, and making progress.”
What? The president wouldn’t commit one way or the other? The president didn’t indicate a preference? The president left the congressmen to figure it all out on their own?
Hmm ... that sounds familiar.
The Times says that the issue, which has been simmering for more than a year as health care reform and the economy have dominated the domestic agenda, is expected to come up in the Senate Finance Committee meeting today. If pro-life members fail to win the accommodations they seek, they expect a big fight on the floor: At least two Democratic senators are supportive of the cause.
See also:
Democrats for Life of America: A group with a self-explanatory name if there ever was one.
Twitter updates from Jennifer at 
