Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa) stated last week that he would work to remove abortion funding from the Senate health care reform bill on which debate is opening today. This is welcome news as it is vital to have Democratic leadership on this important measure. The language of an amendment from Senator Casey is not clear. He told Congressional Quarterly that his amendment would be similar to the Stupak amendment in the House. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Ut) is also planning an amendment to remove abortion funding.
Casey may also propose his Pregnant Woman Support Act as an amendment to the bill. This Act would put new abortion limits in place and provide funding for programs to assist pregnant women.
Senator Casey has not indicated if he will oppose the Senate bill if his abortion-funding removal amendment is not adopted. Since a filibuster of a Casey amendment is likely, 60 votes will be needed for passage.
The National Right to Life Committee released an analysis of the Obamacare/Reid Senate bill which reveals several provisions relating to rationing of lifesaving medical treatment. The conclusions are as follows:
Senior citizens could face severe limitations on their ability to use their own money to avoid denial of lifesaving treatment against their wishes.
State commissioners governing the new health insurance exchanges created by the bill would be given the power to deny people the option of choosing plans less likely to deny treatment by limiting what people would be allowed to pay for such policies.
“End-of life Counseling” has been replaced with a “Shared Decisionmaking” provision. The bill funds and promotes “patient decision aids” to “help” patients make treatment decisions.
A Medicare Advisory Board is established to force Medicare payments below the rate of medical inflation. This could cause health care providers to skimp on care for Medicare patients or to leave the Medicare program altogether.
Medical Ethics Director Burke J. Balch of NRLC states that “The Reid Bill contains important elements that would greatly impact the ability of patients to receive unrationed medical care. These elements, combined with inadequate funding — a scheme of robbing Peter to pay Paul under which half of the funding comes from cuts in Medicare spending — would result in rationing lifesaving treatment for senior citizens.”
“I screamed, but there was nothing to hear,” taps 46-year-old Rom Houben on his computer. Mr. Houben was in a car crash and lived in a paralyzed state for 23 years, fully conscious but not able to make a sound. Misdiagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state, he “dreamed himself away.”
Three years ago, Dr. Steven Laureys used a new high-tech scan which revealed that Louben’s brain was still functioning almost completely normally. “I shall never forget the day when they discovered what was truly wrong with me — it was my second birth,” taps Houben. Houben now enjoys using the computer to communicate with his friends and has a new life.
Louben’s case, of course, illustrates the fallacy of giving up on people who have brain damage such as the tragedy of Terri Schiavo. Laureys, a German doctor, writes in his published study that patients classed as in a vegetative state are often misdiagnosed. New imaging techniques should give physicians the tools to diagnose correctly and avoid another Rom Houben.
So much has been documented in this blog regarding the massive effort to turn our health care system upside-down. But, we cannot and will not stop now. It is too important.
To summarize:
The Senate Reid version of Obamacare contains massive abortion subsidies. At minimum, a Stupak-type amendment to be proposed by Senator Hatch must be added.
Medicare patients will be severely hit. A new analysis suggests that nursing homes and hospitals will no longer accept Medicare patients if Obamacare becomes law. Also hit will be the prescription drug plan used by many seniors.
Rationing is a serious concern both in terms of provisions in the various bills and the huge amount of proposed unsustainable spending.
So for the holidays, put our two U.S. Senators on your contact list and call/write/email them frequently.For instructions on calling Senators Kohl and Feingold click here.
Pro-life Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak has issued a stern warning to President Obama. After Obama’s Senior Advisor David Axelrod told the media this weekend that Obama would intervene to remove the abortion funding ban, Stupak told Fox News, “They’re not going to take it out. If they do, health care will not move forward.”
“We won fair and square…That’s why Mr. Axelrod’s not a legislator. He doesn’t really know what he’s talking about,” Stupak said.
Stupak’s abortion funding ban language was supported in the House by 40 right-to-life Democrats and by a number of other Democrats. Stupak said these Democrats were prepared to vote against the entire health care reform bill if the Stupak language had not been adopted.
N ow that the health care debate has moved to the U.S. Senate, Senator Orrin Hatch told the media yesterday that he is prepared to become the Bart Stupak of the Senate. Hatch understands that the battle will be more difficult in the Senate but he will not be deterred in his quest to add specific language to prohibit federal funds from being used to pay for most abortions.
If the Senate actually passes a health care reform measure, it will go to a conference committee where the differences between the House and Senate versions will be hashed out. The finalized conference committee version will then be sent back to the House and Senate for final approval.
The Obama White House is expected to try to strip away the abortion funding ban at the conference committee stage. If Obama decides to take that risk in order to appease his pro-abortion supporters, Stupak and his pro-life Democratic colleagues will be ready for them … and prepared for an all out war!
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wants the Senate to begin voting on health care reform legislation this week. But first, he has to round up 60 votes to vote for a Motion to Proceed which will begin Senate debate on the issue.
Reid still doesn’t have the Senate bill crafted but it is sure to include massive government funding of abortion. … something the pro-abortion Democratic leadership and the White House desperately want.
When the Senate begins voting on the measure, it is likely that an amendment similar to the Stupak amendment in the House will be offered. It is unclear whether right-to-life senators will be successful in keeping the Stupak language in the Senate bill. Pro-Abortion Senator Tom Harkin said amendments to the health care reform bill would occur after lawmakers return from the Thanksgiving recess.
Rep. Bart Stupak, the House right-to-life hero said last week, “We are in contact with senators to make sure our language holds. The other side is playing with fire. If they are going to summarily dismiss us by taking the pen to that language, there will be hell to pay…”
Harry Reid and the White House need to heed Stupak’s words or risk an all out war.
In yet another surprise move, Senator Harry Reid says he will open debate on his version of Obamacare next week Tuesday. Recently, he and other Senators had stated it would take months and even into next year to reach consensus in the Senate on a bill. Apparently, Reid feels momentum from the narrow House approval of Obamacare. It is still a question as to whether he will stick to the Senate tradition of 60 votes needed to advance the bill or resort to what he calls “reconciliation” requiring only a simple majority. It is all shaping up as a battle royal.
Rep. Bart Stupak, our incredible right-to-life hero, is not satisfied with the huge victory in the House on his amendment prohibiting the use of federal funds for abortion on demand. “We are in contact with senators to make sure our language holds. The other side is playing with fire.”
Planned Parenthood and its allies in Congress feel stung. They are now forming their own “pro-choice” coalitions, demanding meetings with the President, telling people to urge President Obama to keep the promise he made to PP in 2007 that “reproductive” health care would be at the core of his health care reform.
Stupak is unfazed. “We won because [the Democrats} need us. If they are going to summarily dismiss us by taking the pen to that language, there will be hell to pay….if they double-cross us, there will be 40 people who won’t vote with them the next time they need us — and that could be the final version of this bill.” Stupak is apparently referring to any bill that would come out of conference committee, should a bill get that far, that does not have his right-to-life language.
National Right to Life calls Stupak “fearless” and “heroic.” And, we completely agree.
Some are arguing that the Stupak Amendment allowed H.R. 3962, Obamacare, to pass and so the right strategy would have been to kill the Stupak amendment and thus kill the bill altogether. Some groups urged Republicans to vote “present” on the Stupak Amendment to avoid having a recorded vote in favor of abortion funding, so their votes would not be counted and the amendment would fail. Here are the reasons why this strategy was flawed and why support for the Stupak Amendment was the right strategy:
The most important reason is the moral one — allowing a pro-abortion bill which would result in federal funding of abortion to advance un-amended would cynically have allowed political goals to take precedent over saving the lives of unborn children.
The bill would likely have passed anyway, without the Stupak Amendment. Stupak and his 39 pro-life colleagues are not all Blue Dogs — many of them support H.R. 3962. Stupak’s argument all along was to allow a vote on his amendment and he succeeded. If the Republicans had deserted Stupak after working with him for months to procure a vote, the pro-life Democrats likely would have voted their conscience on the Stupak Amendment, and then voted for the bill, giving Speaker Pelosi and the pro-aborts a huge victory.
If the House had not passed the Stupak Amendment, the chances would be even slimmer that the Senate would adopt similar language.
In the end, only Republican John Shadegg (R-Az) voted “present.” All other House Republicans honored their commitment to the unborn and to Rep. Stupak. It was the right thing to do and the right strategy.
The Weekly Standard summed it up nicely in an article that can be read here.
As with anyone who receives a ton of publicity, people wonder who Sarah Palin really is. Having just had the opportunity to meet her, I can tell you she is the real deal. Genuine, articulate, humble, smart, sincere — not a taint of arrogance. What people find appealing about Sarah Palin is they love what they see — and they are right on the money.
As Governor Palin emerged from behind the curtain Friday night, the enormous crowd erupted in cheers and applause — rock star style. Yet, the audience, young and old, was hardly composed of rock concert fanatics. They just love Sarah Palin. And, she delivered. From honoring veterans, to asking for a moment of silence for those killed or injured at Fr. Hood, to the personal account of learning she was carrying an unborn child with Down syndrome, Palin had the audience mesmerized. She spoke passionately of the truth of holding right-to-life views. Best of all, she told us that when we were told to shut up — Wisconsin went rogue!
Another Palin phenomenon is that people want to instinctively protect her. The vicious, brutal, degrading pictures and comments found about her on the Internet, and smears uttered by smarmy pundits as what they think are more “polite,” make people love her more. It will be interesting to see whether the Palin star rises or falls in the coming years. If Friday night was any indication, that star will soar.
Read Journal Sentinel Community Columnist Kathy Banaszak’s article on the event here.
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mi) is not your ordinary household name. But, he is a true pro-life hero. By insisting over and over that no federal funds should be used for abortion, essentially sticking it to Speaker Pelosi and President Obama, Stupak was able to win approval for a vote on his amendment to the health care bill, H.R. 3962, to really prohibit federal funding of abortion. And, the amendment won by a substantial margin. From Wisconsin, voting for the pro-life Stupak amendment were Reps. Sensenbrenner, Ryan, Petri and Obey. Voting against were Reps. Kagen, Kind, Moore and Baldwin.
The pro-abortion contingent is stung by this defeat, and vowing to take the Stupak language out in conference committee. Here is the reality: Who knows if the Senate will pass a bill or what version? Perhaps the Senate will also pass a Stupak amendment. Or, the Senate version could be crafted in such a manner that a Stupak amendment is not necessary. If there is a fight in conference committee, Stupak and his gang of 40, emboldened by their fantastic Saturday night coup, can once again hold back the votes needed to pass the entire bill. Major kudos to Stupak and his Dem colleagues! And, to all of the Republicans, save one, who voted for the Stupak amendment.
Which brings me to Governor Sarah Palin. What a magnificent event we had on Friday, November 6!!! We estimate there were about 3,400 people in the crowd and their continual roars said it all. People literally floated out of the hall. More on Palin tomorrow as the health care reform measure information took precedence today.
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