No matter what the president has said, if he gets the [health care] bill he wants, taxpayer dollars will end up paying for abortions.
Most of the proposals for expanding coverage include a provision for people who can't afford private health insurance. . . . if a private plan offers abortion coverage and a federal subsidy is used to purchase it, this would mean taxpayers are subsidizing abortion.
UPDATE 9/11/09: Politico essentially agrees with Joe Wilson that Obama lies
-- From "Abortion foes aren't buying Obama's assurances" by Robin Abcarian, Los Angeles Times 9/11/09
President Obama, a supporter of reproductive rights, forcefully reiterated in his speech to Congress this week that his healthcare plan would not lead to government funding of abortion.
The trouble is, abortion foes don't believe him.
[Proposed legislation] seeks to distinguish between public and private money. Under any insurance purchased with federal help, individuals would pay the portion of premiums used for abortion services. Federal money, in theory, would not pay for the procedure.
How? Separate accounts would be created to keep federal dollars from co-mingling with an individual's contributions. So, in essence, federal dollars would not support abortions, even if they pay for other health coverage.
Abortion foes call this "an accounting scheme" . . .
Added Charmaine Yoest of Americans United for Life: "There is never going to be a bill that has 'abortion' written in capital letters with red arrows saying 'abortion here!' It's a technical issue that will come down to how the courts interpret it once it passes."
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Pro-Life Congressmen and Planned Parenthood Agree: Health Care Bill Funds Abortion" by Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer CNSNews.com 9/11/09
In his address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night, President Barack Obama said the health care plan he is pushing will not provide federal money for abortions. But pro-life congressmen and Planned Parenthood agree that abortion would be covered under the plan under an amendment sponsored by Rep. Lois Capps (D.-Calif.).
“There has been some recent confusion surrounding the inclusion of abortion coverage in HR 3200, but the issue is really quite clear,” [Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-Pa..)] said at the press conference. “The Capps Amendment, which some have argued is neutral on abortion, explicitly authorizes the federal government to directly fund elective abortions using federal funds drawn on a federal treasury account.
“Some have argued that HR 3200 will maintain the status quo on the issue of abortion,” Pitts said. “Let me be clear. This bill, in all of its forms, will radically expand federal policy with respect to abortion.”
“This legislation will not only expand the government funding, it will also provide additional venues,” Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) said at the press conference. “The language is very clear about having a private insurance provider--government subsidized through these affordability credits--that will provide abortions.”
“The reality is that the Obama-backed House bill would explicitly authorize the federal government insurance plan to pay for elective abortions and would explicitly authorize subsidies for private abortion insurance--and all with federal dollars, which are the only kind of dollars the federal government can spend,” [said Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Campaign.]
Pro-life advocates aren’t alone in their conclusion that the House bill will allow federally funded abortions.
The non-partisan Web site, Factcheck.org agreed in its own analysis of the bill.
“Despite what Obama said, the House bill would allow abortions to be covered by a federal plan and by federally subsidized private plans,” the analysis said.
Planned Parenthood, which was assured by Obama during his presidential campaign that his health plan “will provide essential services, including reproductive services,” has expressed its support for the House bill.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
