LifeNews.com Pro-Life News Report
Saturday, December 19, 2009
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Current Headlines
• Nelson-Reid Abortion Compromise Doesn't Ban Abortion Funding in Health Care
• Analysis: How Nelson-Reid Compromise Allows Abortion Funding
• Pro-Life Advocates Blast Reid-Nelson Health Care Abortion Compromise
• Stupak Knocks Senate Abortion Health Care Compromise
• Pro-Abortion Senators Hail Reid-Nelson Compromise on Abortion-Health Care
• Reid-Nelson Compromise Leaves Open Abortion Funding on Indian Reservations
• Planned Parenthood, NOW, NARAL Oppose Abortion-Health Care Funding Deal
--> IMPORTANT ACTION ALERT: Please call both of your members of the Senate and urge them to support the filibuster of the pro-abortion health care bill. Find any senator's contact information here.
Nelson-Reid Abortion Compromise Doesn't Ban Abortion Funding in Health Care Bill
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Senator Ben Nelson announced today that he will become the crucial 60th vote that Democrats need to pass a government-run health care bill. Nelson has been holding out because of the massive abortion funding in the bill, but said today he will give the measure his support.
Nelson outlined his support for the government-run health care bill in a press conference Saturday morning after he reached a deal with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on abortion and other unrelated issues.
Under the compromise, Nelson said it prohibits abortion funding in a way that earns his vote.
"We have an agreement that the plan with not use federal dollars to fund abortions," he said. "I believe we have accomplished that goal. It's clear I wouldn't have voted for this bill without these conditions."
The compromise Nelson agreed to with Reid makes it so states could disallow abortion coverage in the new health insurance exchanges.
Nelson explained that women using government subsidies to purchase health insurance who want to purchase abortions in the states that opt out of the coverage would have to make a separate payment to pay for the abortion. She would pay one payment to the insurer to pay for the policy and a separate payment to pay for abortion coverage. Full story at LifeNews.com
Analysis: How Nelson-Reid Compromise Allows Abortion Funding in Health Care
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Pro-life groups have spent most of Saturday morning furiously analyzing the Nelson-Reid compromise language on abortion funding in the Senate health care bill. Their conclusion is that the language undermines the amendments they wanted to ban abortion funding.
The compromise language appears in the manager's amendment Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is offering to shore up the 60 votes he needs to overcome the filibuster against the pro-abortion health care bill.
The language is not similar to the Stupak and Nelson amendments approved by the House and defeated in the Senate.
Instead, Section 38 adds a provision allowing states to opt out of providing abortion coverage through the exchange and adds further layers of accounting requirements that pro-life groups are calling gimmicks to hide abortion funding.
The result remains the same and, contrary to longstanding policy, the federal government will subsidize private health insurance plans that cover abortion.
The manager's amendment also strikes the public option and replaces it with a program similar to the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) run by the Office of Personnel Management. However, unlike the FEHBP, the Director of OPM will contract with health insurance companies to provide insurance that includes abortion.
The National Right to Life Committee informed LifeNews.com it strongly opposes the abortion language and complained that "Reid intends to press for Senate approval of the language during the days immediately ahead, without allowing an opportunity for any revisions to be considered."
"The manager's amendment is light years removed from the Stupak-Pitts Amendment that was approved by the House of Representatives on November 8 by a bipartisan vote of 240-194," NRLC legislative director Douglas Johnson told LifeNews.com. "The new abortion language solves none of the fundamental abortion-related problems with the Senate bill, and it actually creates some new abortion-related problems." Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Life Advocates Blast Reid-Nelson Health Care Abortion Funding Compromise
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The initial reaction from pro-life organizations and lawmakers to the compromise deal reached by Senate Leader Harry Reid and Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson is not supportive. They say Nelson caved in on his promise to not support the government-run health care bill unless it banned abortion funding.
The new compromise doe snot ban abortion funding but merely allows states that don't want to force taxpayers to fund abortions to opt out of doing so. Otherwise, taxpayers would still be forced to finance abortions with government funds.
Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, issued a statement blasting the Nelson-Reid proposal.
"No back room deal can change the fact that this is a fatally flawed bill. Make no mistake about it, the Reid bill will allow federal tax dollars to be used to fund abortions," he said in a statement sent to LifeNews.com.
"It is extremely disappointing that so many Democrats have chosen the wrong side of history and put politics over the will of the American people. My colleagues and I will continue to do all that we can to ensure the American people have enough time to know what is in this bill, and we will do everything in our power to stop it," Cornyn, who is pro-life, added.
Sen. Tom Coburn, a pro-life doctor and Republican, agrees.
He said it is "absolutely fictitious" that the Nelson-Reid language bans abortion funding. "The negotiations, whoever did them, threw unborn babies under the bus," Coburn said Full story at LifeNews.com
Stupak Knocks Senate Abortion Health Care Compromise, Would Defeat It in House
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Rep. Bart Stupak, the pro-life Michigan congressman who led the fight against the abortion funding in the House, says he doesn't approve of the new abortion funding compromise in the Senate. The Democrat made it clear he would work to defeat the proposal if it makes it to the House.
Stupak, in an interview with Politico, called the deal Harry Reid and Ben Nelson struck on abortion funding "unacceptable."
He joined pro-life groups in saying the compromise marked "a dramatic shift in federal policy," by undermining the Hyde amendment that has prohibited taxpayer funding of abortions since the 1970s.
Stupak also talked with Politico about a dustup that occurred Saturday morning, whereby one of his staffers sent out an email to pr-life Senate Republicans and pro-life organizations urging opposition to the Nelson amendment.
Somehow, Political got ahold of the email and a response and used them to write an article on how Stupak was reportedly working behind the scenes with Senate Republican Leader and pro-life Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell to scuttle the pro-abortion health care bill in the Senate. "I never talked to McConnell about the health care bill," said Stupak.
However, Stupak will likely talk with his pro-life colleagues in the House about the Reid-Nelson language. He has repeatedly promised that if his authentic amendment to ban abortion funding is removed from the bill, he will oppose the health care bill. Full story at LifeNews.com
Pro-Abortion Senators Hail Reid-Nelson Compromise on Abortion-Health Care
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Pro-abortion senators say they are pleased with the new abortion funding language that appears in the manager's amendment Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is offering. Reid agreed Saturday to a compromise with Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson that waters down the abortion funding ban.
Under the compromise, Nelson said it prohibits abortion funding in a way that earns his vote.
But, the compromise Nelson agreed to with Reid makes it so states could disallow abortion coverage in the new health insurance exchanges. States that don't opt out of the abortion coverage would still force their residents to pay for abortions under the government-run health care system.
Two pro-abortion senators -- Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, and Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat -- hailed the compromise.
"We said all along that we wanted to ensure there was a firewall between private and public funds -- this compromise achieves that," they said in a statement. "We said we would not accept language that prohibited a woman from using her own private funds for her legal reproductive health care – this compromise meets that test."
They added: "And we said we would stop Stupak -- which we did. Let's be clear -- we were both much happier with the Capps language and the language in the underlying bill . But compromise was necessary to get a health care bill for the American people, and this compromise achieves that." Full story at LifeNews.com
Reid-Nelson Compromise Leaves Open Abortion Funding on Indian Reservations
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Senate Republicans have analyzed the so-called new abortion funding compromise struck by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson. They say the language, which doesn't ban abortion funding under the bill, leaves open paying for abortions on Indian reservations.
Senate Republican aides examining the new language say Reid's amendment, which would add the compromise to the government-run health care bill, doesn't apply to Indian health care provisions.
The amendment includes "by reference" legislation the Indian Affairs Committee approved last year covering health care for the many tribal reservations. According to a Roll Call article, that version of the legislation is deemed passed by the whole Senate by including a reference to it in the health care bill.
However, the Indian health care legislation the committee approved does not include a ban on abortion funding that has traditionally been included in such bills. Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, tried to get an abortion funding ban included on the Senate floor, but the bill died in a conference committee.
Meanwhile, the Reid-Nelson language does not apply to the Indian health care funding bill.
One republican aide told Roll Call that is a "huge mistake" and predicted it could cause problems for Reid because it undermines the supposed deal he has with Nelson to exclude abortion funding.
"When you drop major pieces of legislation into a 2,000-page bill simply by reference, you're going to make mistakes. For advocates of life, this mistake is a huge one," the aide said. Full story at LifeNews.com
Planned Parenthood, NOW, NARAL Oppose Abortion-Health Care Funding Deal
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Leading pro-abortion organizations are coming out in opposition to the new abortion funding "compromise" worked out by Senators Harry Reid and Ben Nelson. Although pro-life advocates oppose the compromise because it still allows abortion funding, they are upset that states can cut off some funding.
The so-called compromise essentially allows states to determine if they want to opt out of the massive government funding of abortion under the government-run health care bill. Citizens of states that do not opt out will still be forced to pay for abortions.
Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, put out a statement opposing the deal.
"Planned Parenthood strongly opposes the new abortion language offered by Senator Ben Nelson in the manager's amendment," she said. "Last week, the Senate rejected harsh restrictions on abortion coverage, and it is a sad day when women's health is traded away for one vote." "The Nelson language is essentially an abortion rider. It creates an unworkable system whereby individuals are required to write two separate checks each month, one for abortion care and one for everything else," she said.
"There is no sound policy reason to require women to pay separately for their abortion coverage other than to try to shame them and draw attention to the abortion coverage. Moreover, it is highly unlikely that insurance companies will be willing to follow such an administratively cumbersome system, leaving tens of millions of women without abortion coverage," she claimed. Full stories at LifeNews.com
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