This blog will continue to focus on health care reform in Washington as it is the key legislation for the right-to-life movement at this time.
The 850 page House version of reform would result in mandated abortion coverage nationwide, paid for by taxpayers. Poor Americans would receive a taxpayer subsidy which would pay for their abortions.
A key provision of the house bill would require that all Americans have a government-defined minimum health benefits package. A “Benefits Advisory Committee” and Kathleen Sebelius (notoriously pro-abortion, counted the late George Tiller as a friend and campaign benefactor) would decide what the benefits would be included in the government-defined package.
Unless abortion is specifically excluded, which it currently is not, abortion would eventually be included. Why? It has been the goal of the pro-abortion movement forever to consider abortion as a mainstream medical “procedure.”
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) wrote a letter to every member in the House which said “I am deeply disappointed that the health care reform package unveiled last week poses a grave threat to the unborn in our nation…Without abortion specifically excluded from any government-mandated or government-funded benefits package, abortion will be included. Time and time again, bureaucrats and courts have decided that abortion must be included in public health programs unless Congress explicitly provides otherwise….health care reform will be a death sentence for thousands of unborn children.”
Will Congressman listen, or follow the tune of Planned Parenthood and its congressional allies? Stay tuned.
We’ve been telling you for months that the Obama health care plan means abortions for everyone and paid for by you and me.
As Doug Johnson of the National Right to Committee puts it, “The pro-abortion movement sees federal ‘health care reform’ as a golden opportunity to force-feed abortion into every nook and cranny of the health-care delivery system. Their goal, as they sometimes put it, is to ‘mainstream’ abortion.
The vast majority of Republican members of Congress have recognized this and are insisting that any ‘health care reform’ measure must specifically exclude abortion coverage or funding.
Now, right-to-life Democrats in the U.S. House are joining their Republican counterparts in insisting that abortion be excluded from ‘health care reform.” A group of 19 Democrats sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying, “We cannot support any health care reform proposal unless it explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan.”
LifeNews.Com has the full scoop and a link to the letter. Find it here
We’ve been telling you for months about one of the Obama Administration’s priorities … taxpayer funding of abortions. The Administration is promoting health care “reform” that includes mandated abortion coverage - paid for by taxpayers. But they are also determined to undo all of the laws that have protected you and me from having our tax dollars used to pay for the destruction of unborn babies.
You’ll remember that Obama began the process shortly after he was elected by issuing an Executive Order that released federal tax dollars for the promotion of abortion overseas. Now, the Administration has set its sights on undoing the Dornan Amendment which has prohibited taxpayer-funded abortions in the District of Columbia for many years. If fact, the Administration has specifically asked Congress to repeal the Dornan Amendment.
There are a number of other laws that have protected taxpayers from paying for abortions such as the Hyde Amendment and others. All of these laws are now in grave jeopardy.
Wisconsin Congressman David Obey is the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee - the committee that deals with tax-funding of abortion. Because of his chairmanship of this committee, Congressman Obey has great power in determining which measures will and will not be approved.For those of you who live in Obey’s district, it is essential that you call him immediately to express your opposition to repealing ANY of the laws that prohibit taxpayer-funding of abortion. His Washington office number is 202-225-3365. His Wausau office: 715-842-5606. His Superior office: 715-398-4426. Even if you do not live in his district, please call. As Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, David Obey is making decisions that affect taxpayers throughout Wisconsin and the nation!
Lurking in the intense debate over health care reform is the issue of rationing which will impact all of us. Bluntly put, there is no question that a new Obama “Health Czar,” whether an individual or a committee, will decide which coverage is mandated (read: abortion), and which health care will be denied.
Burke Balch of National Right to Life refers to “comparative effectiveness” research methodologies which could be used as a basis to deny benefits to patients who want treatments, based on “their age, expected length of life, or of the patient’s present or predicted disability or quality of life.”
Senator Michael Enzi (R-Wyoming) offered an amendment to a health care bill in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Monday to prevent use of “comparative effectiveness” research to deny benefits to patients. It was defeated on a party-line vote.
For all of his disingenuous statements, his propensity for saying one thing and doing another, for hiding his real agenda, Obama is dead right and sincere on the issue of fatherhood.
One of today’s American tragedies is the lack of fathers present in too many households. It doesn’t take an educated person or a study to know that children suffer significant harm by not having a Daddy present in their lives.
From the right-to-life standpoint, we do have a study which tells us women sometimes abort their second or third child because Dad is AWOL in the upbringing of an existing child or children. The women don’t complain about lack of money, but the absence of Dad. It is heartbreaking to think of children missing their Dads and wondering why they aren’t loved.
By addressing the issue head on and showing what a role model he is, Obama could have a major influence on these cowardly men who don’t care enough to love and care for their own children.
Just when you think you’ve heard everything, another atrocity occurs to advance the assault on human life even further.
As reported in LifeNews.com, the Empire State Stem Cell Board in New York has approved a plan which would use taxpayer dollars to pay women who allow their human eggs to be extracted for research purposes. The research, of course, is human cloning and embryonic stem cell research.
The board authorized up to $10,000 per retrieval to extract the eggs, with funding coming from a $600 million state tax dollar fund. New York is the first state to do this. Will there be more?
Women may be handsomely paid, but there is a bigger price to be paid in terms of their health. Egg retrieval carries significant risk, including organ failure, infertility and even death. It has long been feared that poor women will be induced to risk their health to meet economic needs.
A group called Hands Off Our Ovaries has formed to expose and oppose this plan. Women from a large spectrum belong to this organization. Education and action is needed — really fast before it comes to more states.
Neither the Senate Republicans nor Democrats put forward an amendment to the State Budget to stop the late-term abortion plan at the Madison Surgery Center.
Last week, an Assembly amendment authored by Rep. Dan LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) to stop the plan failed by just one vote on a procedural maneuver by the Democratic leadership which prevented a vote on the amendment itself.
Although it was not expected that Senate Democratic leaders would take up the issue, it is disappointing that Republican Senate leaders also took a pass.
Wisconsin Right to Life profusely thanks all those who took the time to contact their legislator(s). Believe me, your voice was heard!
As the State Assembly deliberates the State Budget today, representatives will have before them an amendment by Rep. Dan Le Mahieu (R-Oostburg) to prohibit second and third trimester abortions at UW Hospital and Clinics and any health care provider affiliated with the hospital or clinic.
Of course, this amendment attempts to stop the late-term abortion plan at the Madison Surgery Center. Wisconsin Right to Life applauds the efforts of Rep. Le Mahieu and has notified all Assembly Representatives of our support for his amendment.
As a breast cancer survivor, this one gets pretty personal. Komen for the Cure has become an international phenomenon, raising millions of dollars for breast cancer screening, awareness and research. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that Komen for the Cure is giving significant $$$ to Planned Parenthood to carry out its goals. In 2007, Komen chapters gave over $711,000 to Planned Parenthood affiliates, including some in Wisconsin.
Here’s the sick irony. Komen, which sincerely wants to beat breast cancer, gives money to Planned Parenthood, which performs the largest number of U.S. abortions. Since abortions increase breast cancer risk, Komen is contributing to and linking arms with an organization which is responsible for increasing the risk.
You can find more information on the abortion/breast cancer link here.
In spite of my longing to see breast cancer disappear, you won’t see me at a Komen event.
The pro-abortion Obama Administration is at it again … and this time, they want Congress to grant them the resources necessary to undermine the right-to-life laws of sovereign nations throughout the world.
This week the U.S. House of Representatives will be voting on the State Department authorization bill (H.R. 2410). One section of this bill would establish an Office for Global Women’s Issues. This new Office would be headed by an official with the rank of ambassador-at-large who would be charged with promoting “women’s empowerment internationally.”
When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was questioned about this on April 22 by the Foreign Affairs Committee, she said, “We are now an administration that will protect the rights of women, including their rights to reproductive health care,” and that “reproductive health care includes access to abortion.”
Seeing the handwriting on the wall, pro-life Congressman Chris Smith, a member of the committee, offered an amendment to H.R. 4210 to prevent the new Office from engaging in efforts to alter the laws of foreign nations governing abortion. The committee rejected the Smith amendment on a party-line vote. Without the Smith language, H.R. 4210 would empower the Obama Administration to pursue its agenda of undermining the right-to-life laws of sovereign nations.
Congressman Smith will be offering his amendment again. If it is adopted by the full House of Representatives, we’d remove our objection to H.R. 4210. But if the amendment fails, we will continue to oppose the entire State Department authorization bill. After all, giving the Obama Administration the power to undermine right-to-life laws in foreign sovereign countries is no small matter!
If you agree with us, contact your member of the House of Representatives and urge your representative to support the Smith amendment to H.R. 4210.
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