Vol. 73/No. 45      November 23, 2009

The amendment by Democrat Bart Stupak of Michigan was added to the bill at the last moment, winning approval in a 240-194 bipartisan vote. Five states—Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, North Dakota, and Oklahoma—already bar private insurance plans from covering elective abortions.

About 85 percent of those who will be buying insurance under the proposed plan will receive government subsidies, which would be provided to anyone earning less than $88,000 for a family of four. The amendment is an incentive to private insurance companies to discontinue offering plans to cover abortion. In 2002, 87 percent of typical employer plans covered abortion, according to a Guttmacher Institute study.

While in Seattle November 9, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that although she opposed the antiabortion amendment being added to the health “reform” bill, she supported doing so because it was necessary for the measure to pass. She said both sides on this issue needed to find “common ground,” but aren’t there yet, reported Associated Press.

The federal government has been restricting the use of government funds for abortions for decades. The Hyde Amendment passed in the mid-1970s bars funding abortions for those on Medicaid, except in cases of incest, rape, or if the woman's life is in danger. Separate laws apply similar restrictions to the federal employer health plan and the military.

Earlier versions of the health “reform” bill would have allowed people getting federal subsidies to pay for abortion overage, but you had to use your own money, noted AP. In an interview with ABC News November 9, President Barack Obama said he didn’t feel comfortable with the abortion restriction inserted in the House bill. “There needs to be some more work before we get to the point where we’re not changing the status quo,” the president said. On the other hand, “we’re not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions.”

The health “reform” legislation is currently being discussed in the Senate. “I expect the bill that will be brought to the floor will ensure that no federal funds are used for abortions,” Senate Majority leader Harry Reid told the media.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, Democrat from California, called the House amendment “unfair and discriminatory toward women,” because it denies women the right to use their own money to pay for abortions. Referring to the ban on federal funds for abortions, however, she argued that nothing should be done to change the status quo. “We’ve had a compromise in place for decades that has been fair. Anything that disrupts that compromise is a huge step back for women.”

A statement released by Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards said that if the House health bill is enacted it “would result in women losing benefits they have today.” It “reaches much further than the Hyde Amendment.”

A statement released November 8 by National Organization for Women president Terry O’Neill opposed the Stupak Amendment, saying, “Health-care reform should not be a vehicle to obliterate a woman’s fundamental right to choose.”
 
 
Related articles:
Illegal or unsafe abortions kill 70,000 around world
No common ground!  
 
 
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