Abortion “Healthcare” Mandate Must Be Stopped–Guest Post by Nicole Collins
Jul 28th, 2009 by David Anderson
On the national front, healthcare reform is saturating the headlines. President Obama and the Congressional Democrats are fine-tuning their rallying cries to try to make us believe that the passing of this bill will be akin to landing on the moon. Whether it will be or won’t be, requiring abortion coverage in this will certainly be detrimental.
As the bill currently stands, it includes a federal mandate that nearly all health plans (public or private) cover abortions. The National Right to Life Committee calls this bill “the greatest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade.” This is a grave danger to the pro-life movement.
This mandate, disguised as “healthcare,” is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to slide the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) into a bill that some people otherwise feel is necessary. It is essentially an abortion industry “bail-out,” something the majority of Americans oppose.
The bill’s “essential benefits package” is the predominant cause for concern. These “essential benefits” are not specifically defined in the bill and legal experts say that the phrase is broad enough to include abortion. There is plenty of judicial precedent in America to support this theory. The only way to avoid it is for Congress to specifically exclude abortion coverage in whatever version they vote on.
Furthermore, because all healthcare plans, including those provided by private companies, will be forced (by the government, of course) to meet the minimum benefit mandate, there will be almost no escaping paying into a plan that covers abortion. This is frightening in itself, but think about the slippery slope we’re creating. If your insurance has to cover abortions, it will certainly soon be forced to cover emergency contraception (the abortion pill), euthanasia, death by starvation, and more. And you will be forced to pay for these objectionable procedures, through your tax dollars or the premiums you pay on private insurance.
In an early attempt to stave off abortion funding, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) introduced the Pence Amendment. This amendment would have, under Title X, de-funded Planned Parenthood, which already receives $350 million taxpayer dollars. On Friday, July 24, the Pence Amendment was defeated by a vote of 183-247. Rep. Castle voted NO on this bill…not a good sign that he will vote with the majority of Republicans on the abortion mandate. Please keep the pressure on Castle. Make sure he knows that Delawareans do NOT want to fund abortions through “healthcare.”
I keep hearing rhetoric appealing to “common ground” and “working together to reduce abortions”, but forcing Americans to pay for them with their tax dollars will do anything but reduce abortions. In fact, the Guttmacher Institute, the research arm of Planned Parenthood, recently noted “that about one-third of women who would have had an abortion if support were available carried their pregnancies to term when the abortion fund was unavailable.” Clearly, funding abortions only serves to increase them.
PLEASE keep the pressure on your Congressmen (wherever you live) to vote NO on any abortion coverage in healthcare. It is literally a life and death situation.
Note: The author is the President of Delaware Right to Life, but she is writing in personal capacity.
It is very disconcerting to me that HR 3200 and any similar bills that have or will be proposed, will be giving the government so much more access to, and influence over, both the begining and the end of our lives.
It is very disconcerting to me that HR 3200 and any similar bills that have or will be proposed, will be giving the government so much more access to, and influence over, both the begining and the end of our lives.
Don’t worry – I am pretty sure that even under Obama’s plan, you will still have the right to die in childbirth, or rot alone in senility.
Not if government health care kills me first. :p
Naturally, I agree with Nicole 100%. This is one of the defining issues of our time. Do we as Americans value investing in life or have we lost our moorings? I want a system which makes human existence better for all those who are served by it.
May I extend a hearty welcome to Nicole and proofreader husband Mike.
Anyone else see where lefty columnist/economist Paul Krugman asked the seven or so Canadians in his audience if they actually disliked Canadian healthcare? They ALL did!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EPd2i4Jshs&feature=player_embedded
Yes, I was about post a link to your site. It was intriguing.
Our Congressional representatives have government run heatlhcare and they love it! And by the way, they also have a public option alternative.
Our active duty military have excellent health care now that Walter Reed has been straightened out. This is government run healthcare.
So it is a myth perpetrated by the Right that government run healthcare would be a disaster, and that public option would cause private insurers to fold. Not true, folks!
Right, Perry. You’re just like Krugman — ask the public and get the answer you don’t expect … and then say “that was a bad idea.”
The Congress doesn’t have publicly run health care. They get to choose from a menu of private companies. The military had found it cheaper to give much of their health care over to Tri-Care which are private insurance companies. The VA serves a specialized nitch and does it well though a decade and a half ago it was severely broken.