The Obama Watch
Abortion Haunting Obama
The more he puts it off, the more it comes back.
Could abortion deep-six Democrats’ efforts to overhaul the nation’s health care system?
Probably not, but strife over the issue has already helped delay Congressional action until after the August recess. And it could play an even larger role as debate continues this fall.
It’s not a far-fetched idea to assume that health care reform could become a catalyst for government-subsidized destruction of unborn human life. Although President Barack Obama has soft-peddled the abortion issue since taking office (rescinding the Mexico City Policy being one exception), he’s known for dispensing kickbacks to his liberal supporters, namely through stimulus legislation. It’s not unreasonable to assume he would use health care reform similarly.
A coalition of Catholic Bishops, concerned about that possibility, sent a letter to Congress and the White House in mid-July demanding that health care reform “excludes abortion coverage or any other provisions that threaten the sanctity of life.”
Religious conservatives aren’t the only political demographic uneasy with the abortion implications of Obama’s health care revamp, either. In late June, about two dozen House Democrats sent a letter to Nancy Pelosi pledging opposition to any reform bill that includes abortion coverage.
More recently, conservative-leaning Democrats have kicked up some dust over what they see as a “hidden mandate” for abortion coverage in the president’s health care proposals. No legislation mentions abortion by name, which opens the door for more government-funded abortions, they say. Some pro-life Democrats want a provision specifically excluding abortion from reform efforts.
Obama has complicated the issue by declining to clarify his position. Asked by CBS whether he would support or oppose federally funded insurance coverage for abortion, Obama straddled the fence. He reiterated his pro-choice position but emphasized that Washington, historically, doesn’t finance “abortions as part of government-funded health care.”
Well, we already knew that. How about a definite stance on the issue, Mr. President?
Obama’s staff has also been less than forthright the American people. Appearing on a recent edition of Fox News Sunday, the president’s budget chief, Peter Orszag, refused to rule out abortion coverage from a health care overhaul, but he squirmed out of giving a definite yes or no answer.
“I am not willing to say explicitly that right now,” he said when asked whether the White House opposed including abortion coverage. “It’s obviously a controversial issue, and it’s one of the questions that is playing out in this debate.”
It’s an ironic situation. The White House has sent signals that it plans to avoid opening new fronts in the culture war, at least for the time being. One prime example is Obama’s refusal to push the Freedom of Choice Act in the near future. But much as he tries to avoid it, the abortion controversy keeps coming back to haunt him.
Once Congress again takes up health care reform in September, the issue could play an even larger role. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer recently admitted that federal funding for abortion has become a hot potato in the Democratic Caucus. It has the potential to be one of several factors that could further delay, or even permanently derail, the president’s efforts.
The Achilles’ heel might be Blue Dog Democrats, who hail from conservative districts where a vote for taxpayer-funded abortions could mean the end of their political fortunes in the mid-term elections next year.
Polling is already trending in favor of Republicans and against Democrats. The president’s approval rating has declined steadily since January, and a new Associated Press survey finds that a majority of Americans are back to thinking the country is headed in the wrong direction.
Obama has little to worry about — his name isn’t on the ballot for several years — but House Democrats don’t have that luxury. In particular, the Blue Dogs are being forced to weigh the political pressure coming from Congressional leaders and the White House with the political reality of their districts.
Already, some conservative Democrats in the House have taken heat for voting in favor of cap-and-trade. And no matter how hard the president and Democratic leadership push, they won’t want to add a yes vote on federal funding for abortion to their list of legislative sins.
About the Author
David N. Bass is a journalist who writes from the Old North State. Follow him on Twitter.
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JP| 7.27.09 @ 7:18AM
As Obama Cheerleader Peggy Noonan asked last week, how stupid can the Democrats be? Well, Planned Parenthood is beginning a long demographic and economic decline. They poured millions into the Obama campaign and expect results. Obamacare would permanently given them a subsidy, as well as lay the institutional framework to "encourage" abortions over childbirth -especially amongst teenage minorities (I can just see a national healthcare board making the policy to cover a $500 abortion over a $10,000 childbirth).
Yes, from a political standpoint it was simply ignorant to include federal funding for abortion in the Bill (at least the language was there). But from a quid-pro-quo point of view it was totally expected. The result was an unexpected wake-up call to the Pro Life coalition last week. Blue Dog Democrats saw thier phones and emails flooded from Pro Life voters. The Pence Amendment (which saw the permanently defund subsidies to Planned Parenthood) was defeated last Thursday, but it did light a fire in the Pro Life movement.
Speaker Pelosi may still yet prevail with a floor vote by weeks end. If she is successfull, it will be a 2 edged sword, as the majority of her Blue Dog Dems (about 57) will surely go down in defeat next year. Who knows, she may find her large 100 seat majority in the House whittle down to less than a dozen seats come Jan 2011.
Jon B| 3.13.10 @ 6:12AM
Obama's restoring of funds for pregnancy prevention measures in the world's poorest countries reduced abortions by 10's of millions in the next 8 years. Republicans lie about the Mexico City Policy by falsely claiming it funds abortions, etc. It's been illegal for US $'s to fund abortions overseas since 1973, but we DO fund pregnancy prevention measures, emergency field birth kits, etc.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/abo_wrld.htm
1993: Repeal of the funding ban: President Clinton felt that private, foreign organizations should be able to receive USAID funding for that part of their programs that involved pregnancy prevention, even though they used their funds raised elsewhere to finance abortions or to appeal for abortion reform. On 1993-JAN-22, his second day in office, he rescinded the executive order.
2001: Reinstatement of the funding ban: On 2001-JAN-22, during his first day in office, President George W. Bush reinstated the funding ban for family planning programs run by agencies that also provide abortion services out of their own funds. His rationale was somewhat confusing. He wrote to the U.S. Agency for International Development: "It is my conviction that taxpayer funds should not be used to pay for abortions or advocate or actively promote abortion, either here or abroad." But no such funds have ever been granted. Existing legislation prevents foreign grants from being used to fund abortions or provide abortion counseling.
http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0126-05.htm
January 26, 2001: Family planning research groups, such as the Alan Guttmacher Institute, last year said that if US funding levels were restored to the $540 million (from $425 million), the following would happen: Nearly 12 million more couples in developing countries would gain access to modern methods of contraception.
There would be 4.3 million fewer unintended pregnancies, 1.5 million fewer unintended births, 500,000 fewer miscarriages; 2.2 million fewer abortions each year; 8,000 fewer deaths from unsafe abortions, 7,000 fewer deaths from other causes related to pregnancy and 92,000 fewer deaths of infants.
Bush cut funding on 1-22-2001, then cut it some more in 2002, so it was roughly 1/2 or just over $200 million. However, some of it was restored because of his 2003 Africa/Aids program, which he didn't fully fund either. Bush cut aids funding completely in early 2001, and dropped another program in Congress (around $800K more) too. then restarted the program 2 years later promising roughly the same $ amount he prevented in the first place.
Pingback| 7.27.09 @ 7:39AM
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES: Abortion Haunting Obama links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
HSR0601| 7.27.09 @ 7:42AM
Let's put aside some distractions caused by the health industry-sponsored Democrats, and the controversial analysis of CBO on the economic effect of the proposed independent advisory council and how to empower it substantively, get back to focus on how to meet the goal of deficit-neutral.
The House leaders reached a deal on Medicare payments: A "Pay for Value" reimbursement system that rewards doctors and hospitals that achieve the best outcomes at the lowest cost.
As a result, The House gained a lot of votes, a lot of people who were withholding support.
The federal Medicare program insures some 44 million elderly and disabled Americans at an annual cost of $450 billion, almost one-fifth of total U.S. health care spending.
Supporters of the agreement say it could save the Medicare System more than $100 billion a year and improve care, that means $1trillian over a decade. (Please visit http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=820455&catid=391 for detailed infos)
The Times in a July 7 editorial argued “As much as 30 percent of all health-care spending in the U.S. -some $700 billion a year- may be wasted on tests and treatments that do not improve the health of the recipients,” Thus the remaining $239 billions over a decade do not matter.
No one can disagree with this best outcome / evidence-based system, and private insurance, too, will be greatly influenced by this change with the focus on value over volume. !
Dr. Armadio at Mayo clinic says, "If we got rid of that stuff, we save a third of all that we spend and that is 2.5 trillion dollars on health care. A third of that and that is 700 billion dollars a year. That covers a lot of uninsured people."
THANK YOU !
Michael Tomlinson| 7.27.09 @ 7:58AM
So-called "conservative leaning" (BS) Democrats or the blue dogs will based on their lack of integrity and character vote for Obamacare. The blue dogs are yellow dogs and that means they're as useless Obama himself.
shaggydavE| 7.27.09 @ 8:48AM
Strictly speaking, how is the doctor supposed to be sure that a test is unnecessary when he hasn't seen the results? Many tests are ordered just to cover the doctor's butt in case of lawsuit, but imagine for a moment that a patient comes into the ER with chest pain. The doctor will certainly order a test panel of cardiac markers (troponin, CK-MB) to determine whether a heart attack has occurred. If the patient is overreacting to a particularly bad case of heartburn the doctor will have ordered unnecessary tests. A great many tests are ordered just to rule out certain possibilities and no responsible overseer of healthcare would deny the doctor the ability to order whatever test they deem necessary.
Spicy Joker| 7.27.09 @ 9:56AM
The Blue Ball Democrats are a bunch of Southern liberals masquerading as conservatives because liberals aren't popular in the South. They will ultimately do whatever Rahm Emmanuel and David Axholerod tell them to do.
Franklin Floyd| 7.27.09 @ 10:59AM
Obamacare is about offing the unborn and the old and giving the finger to the hard-working and the taxpaying.
JerseyJ| 7.27.09 @ 11:08AM
HSR0601 tries to muddy the waters ... "Dr. Armadio at Mayo clinic says, "If we got rid of that stuff, we save a third of all that we spend and that is 2.5 trillion dollars on health care. A third of that and that is 700 billion dollars a year. That covers a lot of uninsured people." "
Actually, the Mayo Clinic states the following ... "Although there are some positive provisions in the current House Tri-Committee bill – including insurance for all and payment reform demonstration projects – the proposed legislation misses the opportunity to help create higher-quality, more affordable health care for patients. In fact, it will do the opposite.
In general, the proposals under discussion are not patient focused or results oriented. Lawmakers have failed to use a fundamental lever – a change in Medicare payment policy – to help drive necessary improvements in American health care. Unless legislators create payment systems that pay for good patient results at reasonable costs, the promise of transformation in American health care will wither. The real losers will be the citizens of the United States."
It's pretty apparent the Mayo Clinic was ticked at our teleprompter-in-chief for putting words in their mouths. Perhaps the lib media hasn't reported that, so you wouldn't know it.
William| 7.27.09 @ 2:25PM
Franklin Floyd|wrote: "Obamacare is about offing the unborn and the old and giving the finger to the hard-working and the taxpaying."
It is also part of a low intensity, covert race war. The older folks and soon the baby boomers who will be denied care are disproportionately white. This is coupled with affirmative action type priorities for the favored citizens.
They do want us dead.
Trust in God and keep your powder dry.
Kent Lyon| 7.27.09 @ 2:53PM
I thought the time for talk was over, and that now is the time for action. Why are Axelrod, Orzsag, et. al., refusing to even state their positions on funding abortions, while calling the issue complex and part of the current "debate that is playing out right now"?
Pingback| 7.27.09 @ 5:54PM
digg » Blog Archive » Roundup: Tiller Murder Suspect’s Hearing links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
E. Patrick Mosman| 7.28.09 @ 7:06AM
President Obama should call upon Senators Kennedy and Byrd, both elderly and ill, to illustrate the cost savings of his proposed government dictated health care treatment by taking two pain pills and preparing to meet their Maker instead of continuing life sustaining high cost medical care paid for by the gold-plated congressional health care plan. That would be a 'teaching moment'.
Don L| 7.28.09 @ 8:10AM
“...As much as 30 percent of all health-care spending in the U.S. -some $700 billion a year- may be wasted on tests and treatments that do not improve the health of the recipients..."
This, of course, means that the entrenched democrats will be dumping their major cause of such expenses - the AMA.
Tony in Central PA| 7.28.09 @ 9:11AM
One of the biggest inconsistencies in the argument for this plan has been the assertion that there are 46, wait - - now 47, million uninsured Americans. Assuming even if this number is correct, where are the doctors going to come from to care for all of these people ? We have been given assurances that there won't be rationing. How will the claims of universal coverage and cost savings be achieved ?
Once empowered with the complete control of our health care system, I can see the government creating an ever - more utilitarian standard for the value of human life. Old people will be euthanized. The unborn with genetic or developmental defects will be aborted. Care will be denied for long term conditions. There will be no conscience provisions for practitioners and institutions that disagree, since abortion and euthanisia will be deemed " fundamental human rights " by the State.
All of this won't happen immediately, but it would happen inexorably if the State is granted the kind of power it is seeking.
Patriot Superman| 7.28.09 @ 10:42PM
Abortion should not only be free, but compulsory for any prospective parent with an IQ under 90.
It would disproportionately impact the readers of this website, but the good it would do this society cannot be overestimated.
Yellowstone | 7.28.09 @ 10:45PM
Isn't it about time to kick these spammer's asses back to the rock they crawled from?
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nbnb| 5.3.10 @ 12:10PM
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jacky | 3.21.11 @ 3:40AM
Don't you see the absurdity?