Abortion Provisions Could Jeopardize Obama's Health Care Reform Plans, Post Opinion Piece Says

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 09 Sep 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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"As President Obama prepares to address Congress on health care reform, America's pro-life movement is gassing up," Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker writes, adding that abortion-rights opponents next week are "planning a major drive ... to try to stop federal funding of abortion." According to Parker, such funding is allowed under proposed health care legislation. Parker asserts that Obama "has partly invited this havoc by not being completely forthright about how health care reform, as currently proposed, would provide taxpayer funding for abortion." She writes, "Somewhere between hysterical claims that Americans will be forced to pay for abortions and assertions that no federal funds will go toward abortion is a more nuanced, if less interesting, truth."

Although current health care reform proposals "don't require federal funding of abortion, they do allow for funding in indirect -- possibly disingenuous -- ways," Parker writes. She states that the House health care reform bill (HR 3200) includes an amendment by Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) that "allows federal funding of abortion only in cases of rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother." According to Parker, the other area of concern is with private insurance coverage. Some health care reform proposals would offer federal subsidies to help U.S. residents purchase private health insurance plans, Parker adds. She continues that this is an "area of concern" for abortion-rights opponents because some private insurers cover abortion services. Although the Capps amendment doesn't allow federal funds to pay for abortion services, "Segregating funding so that taxpayers' dollars don' get tainted by abortions is problematic, to say the least," Parker says.

Parker writes that Obama's "incomplete response to concerns, meanwhile, falls somewhat shy of his commitment to transparency." According to Parker, Obama "still has the chance with his speech on Wednesday to wrest control" of health care reform legislation, "but he'll have to return to his original mission of lowering costs and making insurance portable and fair." She concludes, "Republicans wouldn't stop him if he followed that course, but the funding of abortions could terminate reform in gestation" (Parker, Washington Post, 9/6).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

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