Rep. Stupak Pledges Opposition To House Health Reform Bill Over Abortion Coverage

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 14 Sep 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) said he will vote against the House health care reform bill (HR 3200) if he is not allowed to offer a "more explicit" ban on federal funding for plans that cover abortion services, CongressDaily reports. Stupak's assessment of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's ban differs from that of President Obama, who said in his address to Congress on Wednesday that health reform would not use federal funding for abortion and that federal provider conscience laws would remain in place. Nevertheless, Stupak said that he believes federal money would subsidize abortion services through a proposed public plan option. Stupak claimed, "You're funding the public option; it will be part of the public option; and the Treasury will write checks to plans for abortion." He added, "That's a nonstarter for many of us. We need our amendment to be made in order to have our vote." According to CongressDaily, Stupak offered his amendment in the House Energy and Commerce Committee markup, but it was defeated 28-30.

Democrats in the House have several weeks of work remaining to prepare the bill for the House Rules Committee and floor action. When asked about how abortion would be addressed in the bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said House lawmakers "can't talk about amendments until we see what's in the bill." House leaders on Thursday met with key party caucuses -- including the Blue Dog Coalition, the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus -- to discuss Obama's address. Democratic leaders have had difficulty finding consensus between progressives who want a government-subsidized public option and moderate Blue Dogs (CongressDaily, 9/10).

Antiabortion-Rights Groups Attack Abortion Coverage

Meanwhile, antiabortion-rights groups are urging their grassroots supporters to contact their representatives and encourage them to oppose health care reform legislation because they claim it would provide federal funding for abortion coverage, Politico reports. Ashley Horne of Focus on the Family said the issue is the group's "main priority," adding, "We will do everything we can to ensure this bill either goes down or excludes abortion funding" (Frates, Politico, 9/11).

Similarly, the Susan B. Anthony List will air a TV advertisement in Nevada -- home of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) -- attacking Reid for "pushing a massive government-run health care system requiring taxpayer funding for abortions." The ad is part of a $2 million "Votes Have Consequences" campaign, which targets a dozen representatives and senators. Marjorie Dannenfelser, the group's president, said it was "easy in past election cycles" for opponents of abortion rights to "sit back and think that everything would be taken care of." However, right now the movement is "looking at a complete undoing" in the face of an administration that supports abortion rights (Abcarian, Los Angeles Times, 9/11).

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