The Nation's Pulse
Senate Committee Holds Fast for Abortion
One nation, two cultures, polarized politics.
Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee haven’t heard the news that more Americans call themselves pro-life than pro-choice, according to the Gallup organization.
Yesterday, in a 13-10 vote, every Democrat but one, Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota, opposed an amendment to health care legislation that would have codified a ban on abortion with exceptions. Conversely, every Republican but one, Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, supported the amendment, which was offered by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT).
Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), chairman of the committee, argued that his bill already prohibits abortion with exceptions; but Senator Hatch aimed to make the restrictions permanent, rather than being subject to annual debate and vote in funding bills.
As disappointing as this was, even more so was a similar vote against a conscience clause provision protecting health care personnel who object to abortions on moral grounds.
Gertrude Himmelfarb, Irving Kristol’s widow, wrote an insightful book entitled, One Nation, Two Cultures (1999). Seeing an almost perfect party-line vote on issues which, on their face, should not be partisan matters, i.e., the humanity and protection of unborn children and the rights of conscience, it is apparent that American politics has now come into alignment with the nation’s underlying cultural dynamic, which exhibits polarization between a culture of life and another that values personal autonomy to the exclusion of morality, tradition, and even the right to life of another human being, albeit one out of sight for nine months.
It is interesting to speculate what impact, if any, this vote will have on health care legislation generally. Is it another straw on a camel’s back already weighed down with high costs, taxes, fear over “rationing,” and general concern over the federal government’s role in medicine?
In fairness, the defeat of various public health care options in recent committee votes may be just another example of a cultural phenomenon as much as a political one. However, the matter of a public-plan option is really more of a prudential issue, one subject to legitimate, if heated, political debate. But the protection of human life or, at a minimum, the conscience of those who are being forced to perform abortions against their wills, should be beyond the Pale.
There is, of course, political utility in forcing the Democrats to defend the indefensible. The country may be closely divided on abortion per se, but less so on commandeering tax dollars to subsidize the practice or violate the conscience of health care professionals who opt for life. In some jurisdictions a senator could pay a steep price in the next election. But that is small comfort for unborn Americans.
About the Author
G. Tracy Mehan, III served at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the administrations of both Presidents Bush. He is a consultant in Arlington, Virginia, and an adjunct professor at George Mason University School of Law.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (49) | Leave a comment
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Paula R. Robinson, M.D.| 10.1.09 @ 7:18AM
As a physician I would not be expected to refer for abortion against my conscience either in a society wedded to the value of human life, nor in one wedded to personal autonomy, but only in one devoted to subjugating people to the state.
JBobs| 10.1.09 @ 3:20PM
Paula, your comments are right and to the point. Why is it that more of your profession are not speaking up (or speaking up more loudly) concerning this issue? While I hear individual professionals like yourself express dismay at the direction the Congress is taking health care, it seems that the major professional organizations have sold out. I believe that if the public and Congress were made to hear the truth from your profession this madness could be stopped.
Robert Rosencrans| 10.1.09 @ 7:24AM
Based on the Polanski situation and abortion, we should speculate that liberals only love children under limited circumstances:
1. When they can use children as props to expand the size of government.
2. When they can rape and drug them.
Michael L. Hauschild| 10.1.09 @ 9:03AM
Or we could speculate that the last election was lost due to imbeciles who implied the majority of voting Americans only love children “when they can be used as props” or “when they can rape and drug them.”
Now I am not going to generalize about conservatives, Republicans, or American Spectator readers, I am responding specifically to you.
That is the most vile, inaccurate, distorted slander I have read in months. You usually are articulate and very seldom resort to such rhetoric. The American Spectator is respected, often quoted and a forum for positive responsible discourse.
What you just posted is pure hate.
Hank| 10.1.09 @ 9:44AM
Prove us wrong, Michael, we would love to be proven wrong. Have the majority party( liberals) vote for school vouchers, fund more charter schools, protect the rights of the unborn, life sentences for child abusers and rapists, etc. Please prove us wrong. Oh, wait, check with the unions and Hollywood first and get back to us. We will wait with tears in our eyes.
Michael L. Hauschild| 10.1.09 @ 10:14AM
Hank,
I have spent the last decade or so cradled in the liberal nest of acedamia. I literally know dozens of "the opposition" personally. As parents they love their children with the same passion as I.
As far as proving my aversion to hate mongering you did it in your own text. All the instances you mentioned as behavior are not illegal and your rhetoric was not inflamed or derogatory. If Rosencrance would have been as articulate and as reasonable as you we would simply be involved in a debate instead of slander and hate. I would not have said a thing.
Kimberley| 10.1.09 @ 11:28AM
Yes, it is vile--but look to see the "fruits" of the laws being passed. Can you argue otherwise with the pornography "freedoms", the abortion laws , the disrespect of our elderly and sick--are these all for the common good and aim in sustaining an orderly society? Wake up America we've been on thin ice for along time. Reach for the Goodness and Light that helps bring true peace, Are we not walking into continued madness that will ultimately destroy our very selves?
and aim in sustaining
Chet| 10.2.09 @ 10:49PM
Michael: Simple, distilled logic, to wit:
(1) Your kind Kills babies....
(2) Ours doesn't....
Put that in your slander/hate pipe & do deep knee bends over it...
Kimberley| 10.1.09 @ 11:17AM
Sad ,but true. Let's pray and invoke Our Lord and Lady through Masses and the Holy Rosary.
KyMouse| 10.1.09 @ 11:55AM
Personally, I stick with prayers to Jesus, and to following Him and the Bible. One important warning is in Proverbs 24:11-12:
"Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, 'Surely we did not know this,' does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?"
Jon B| 3.13.10 @ 6:19AM
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.
Jim O'Brien| 10.1.09 @ 8:13AM
As President Reagan said (to paraphrase), it's funny how all those in favor of abortion have already been born. And, why is it that liberals oppose the death penalty for criminals, but favor the death penalty for unborn children?
Charlotte White | 10.1.09 @ 10:07AM
Excellent point Mr. O'Brien. Liberals are their own "god" & are so due to their refusal to follow the ten commandments laid down by "God" as a wonderful guide for all of us in the pursuit of happiness. As is said, the commandments aren't just suggestions, they are the law of God.
I wonder if that is why liberals are usually the ones that bend the law for their own advantage despite whether it is right or wrong.
Sue| 10.1.09 @ 8:33AM
My only comment - if you want to destroy your baby's soul and become a "soul destroyer" do it using your own dime, not mine.
Sometimes when you're restricted from doing something because of "access/resources/i.e. money" it ends up being the most rewarding "non-decision - circumstantial outcomes" ever made.
Appleby| 10.1.09 @ 10:06AM
Kanukistan currently has no restrictions of any kind on abortion, and everyone is forced to pay for it regardless.
Nevertheless, this summer the Sisters of Life, who work tirelessly with volunteers -- men and women, young and old -- to support and assist women who seek another answer, reports that five babies were born who were scheduled for the gas chamber. We provide everything from personal support to furniture moving, help in finding a job, diapers, baby food, prayer, a place to live and maternity clothes ... when the word comes down to us, we respond.
There is an old Jewish saying "Who saves a single life, saves the world entire."
I am very proud to say that I have helped this summer to save the world entire.
What have you done, you personal self?
KyMoue| 10.1.09 @ 12:02PM
Nice to "see" you again, Appleby; I often quote your comment from another site -- "Lamps filled and wicks trimmed, people." (I think that was you, right?)
A good question for all of us -- "What have you done, your personal self?" Thanks to the good Lord's direction, I've been working part-time at the local Right to Life office for the past decade, and occasionally get my op ed pieces about abortion published in our city paper. I also put pro-life brochures and materials in waiting rooms (I volunteer in a hospital), and have joined a church that provides the main support for two pregnancy-care (crisis pregnancy) centers. And I try to persuade friends, relatives and folks at online comment sites about abortion facts. But there is still much more to do.....
KyMouse| 10.1.09 @ 12:03PM
Oops, sorry, got my own name wrong.
Darin| 10.1.09 @ 8:53AM
The Preamble of the Constitution says it applies "to ourselves and our posterity."
Posterity by definition is future generations (those not born at the time the Constitution was adopted).
If the unborn are not considered part of "posterity," what are they? Property? I think you can see where this is going.
Black | 10.1.09 @ 10:08AM
The Constitution is trampled on - Democracy is none existent - Americans are being murdered before they take their first breath - Pro Life is a crime - Those in Power encouraging the public to inform on each other, The Christian way of Life is being extinguished - The Supreme Court is a laughing stock that allows Murder by Choice, Porn on the net for perverts, No Prayer in schools, Outlawing of Christian symbols - Presidents dancing to the tune of secret groups - This is not the America I grow up with this not Freedom this licence to do What you want and to hell with the consequences - American has Have lost it - if we need to throw the Tea overboard again then so be it
bob| 10.1.09 @ 10:23AM
Join the campaign to say NO to socialized medicine.
Send a personalized note to your members of Congress (or ALL members) and tell them to vote NO on Obamacare - before it's too late!
http://conservativeoutpost.com.....d_medicine
Matthew T.| 10.1.09 @ 10:24AM
Before we all start pitching tea over the rails, I would offer that if we have time to wax tragical in these comment boxes then we might also have time to call our senators to voice our disapproval.
This is no time for a party: rather, brew some of that tea, and get on the phone.
http://www.senate.gov/general/.....rs_cfm.cfm
Dora | 10.1.09 @ 11:03AM
Good advice, Matthew; however, I have a stack of responses to my phone calls, emails, and to hard copy letters which I have sent to my congressman. All he does is tell me how he has or will vote (which I already know) and "cuts and pastes" the standard talking points. It is so frustrating when legislators do not listen to their constituents and just do what they want. It's time for a real change--no, it's way late! More advice: be careful how you vote in 2010!
Matthew T.| 10.1.09 @ 3:23PM
Dora,
As one who knows, I caution you not to measure your effect on policy by the blunt ruler of canned response literature. When the phones keep ringing, even the unjust legislator can be moved to just action.
Appleby| 10.2.09 @ 7:51AM
Remember the parable of the Persistent Widow. Google it if you have forgotten.
Black | 10.1.09 @ 4:25PM
What planet are you on Matthew T. Those in power and in the Supreme Court have not been listening for 40 years - Today Obama and his team have consistently lied to the American people - they have been caught lying on LIVE TV wake M T before they put the micro chip in you
Pingback| 10.1.09 @ 3:23PM
Twitter Trackbacks for The American Spectator : Senate Committee Holds Fast for Abor links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 10.1.09 @ 4:36PM
Now Our Military Officials May Quit links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Louis Jenkins| 10.1.09 @ 4:45PM
Our wise and all knowning leaders in the District of Crimminals give not a care about our opinions on the sanctity of life, nor on the moral issues of abortion. The Federal Government through the years has grown strong and determined to replace decency and justice with lawyerly regulations, spending programs, and initiatives. They preen and strut on the stage of politics, appear to be wise, and beneficent, yet their hearts are cruel and black. They approve of abortion and allow its government funding to continue. It is a cross mark against a moral and just society. We the tax payers are forced to be compliant in this wholesale slaughter with our very wealth. Our groans of burden and protests falls on deaf ears and yet the Government approved slaughter machine continues to produce useless lumps of flesh that were once humans with souls. Our rulers have reduced us to slavery, and forced us to support that institution of carnage.
Jacqueline| 10.1.09 @ 5:07PM
Right is considered wrong, evil is considered good, murder is okay, non payment of taxes by the select few is okay, lies and trickery work and truth and honesty have disappeared...I hope that you remember this on Election Day!
I just signed a new petition for a change that I can believe in. How about you? Actions speak louder than words. Amen?
Pingback| 10.2.09 @ 1:44AM
digg » Blog Archive » Roundup: GOP Supports Big Government: Under Your Bed, In Your B links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Yosemeti Sam| 10.3.09 @ 11:11AM
In ' the end' do these slaughter bent
democrats - on unborn humans - not envision
their recompense from the ultimate creator?
LastJudgement| 10.3.09 @ 10:14PM
The Mother says "I cannot have you, you will be in my way. You will ruin my freedom. You will be an added expense that I cannot afford. You are not loved. I will kill you. It is legal therefore my conscience will be assuaged. Only you and I will know."
The baby says "But Mother, you caused me to happen, and I wish to live! How can you do this to me? You know that you will never forget me. Each year on this date you will be reminded of me, and you will mourn. You will never again be the same, please, please don't, Mother! I don't care what the law says, I want to live, please, Mother!"
God says "It is true. If you do this you will become a murderer and I will not let you enter my Kingdom."
The Mother says "It is my choice. It is my body. It is what I want. It is legal in this country. Therefore I will do it."
The baby pleads yet more with the Mother "No Mother, no! It is not your choice, that is a lie! God made me and it is against Him to kill me. It is not your choice! I choose life! I want to be born and to live my life as you do! Please, Mother, I beg of you!"
The Mother has an abortion and within a few months is seeing psychiatrists twice a week, sometimes three times, and she cannot sleep at night. She begins taking anti-depressants just to try and make it through work each day. A few years later she has a failed relationship, and a few years after that another. Then, a failed Marriage. She cannot trust any man. The Father to be had helped to pay for the abortion and she cannot allow herself to love or be loved because of what she has done. She wishes she never had the abortion. Her daughter would have been a teenager right about now. But the world tells her she did nothing wrong.
But she knows.
Was it worth it?
Darryl| 10.16.09 @ 7:48PM
choice, choice , choice. who would have it any other way?
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Hercules won’t help you until you have all five items from Zeus’ quest. Once you have the five items, bring them to Athena. Zeus will appear and steal them. The big jerk! Once this happens, talk to Athena and she will tell you that Hercules will help you. You’ll need to have the magic mirror from Aphrodite because Hercules doesn’t want to have to walk. He’s so lazy!
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