Saturday, October 30, 2010

Ten Ways Reid-Pelosi-Obamacare Funds Abortion

There are still people arguing that Reid-Pelosi-Obamacare does not fund abortion. Reid-Pelosi-Obamacare does fund and subsidize abortion and represents a dramatic departure from the long standing, widely accepted policy of not covering abortion with government funds. Here are ten ways or things to know about how it funds abortion. For more detailed information, see "The List" in National Right to Life's Media Backgrounder:Abortion Policy and "Health Care Reform"


1. Reid-Pelosi-Obamacare will directly fund community health care centers, of which Planned Parenthood would be a beneficiary. $11 billion has been set aside for community health care centers with no restrictions to prevent abortion coverage. Abortion advocates are already discussing how these centers can pay for abortion.

2. Reid-Pelosi-Obamacare will subsidize health care plans which provide abortion for tens of millions of people. Plans may not be required to do so, but they are NOT prohibited from doing so. This is a departure from the longstanding, widely accepted policy of not covering abortion with government funds. Claims that women would have to pay for them with personal funds through a convoluted book keeping scheme can argue with Barbara Boxer and Kathleen Sebelius who say it's only an accounting procedure and of no consequence.


3. Reid-Pelosi-Obamacare contains an abortion mandate. At least one government subsidized health care plan in every area will be required to cover abortion.

4. Enrollees in these government subsidized insurance plans will be required to pay an abortion surcharge whether or not they agree with abortion. To the argument that people do not have to choose an abortion covering plan, if the employer CHOOSES that plan, you'll take it or not have health care.


5. Reid-Pelosi-Obamacare gives bureaucrats authority to force health care plans to cover abortion. It does not mandate that they do so, but it gives them the authority. It's hard to see how a president like Barack Obama would not appoint someone to mandate abortion coverage. The Mikulski amendment would require insurers to cover any preventative service. Look for abortion to be defined as a preventative service and private health care plans to be forced to cover abortions.

6. Reid-Pelosi-Obamacare allows states to opt out of abortion covering plans, but even where that may happen, residents of those states will still be required to pay for abortions in other states.


7. There are other massive pools of money with no abortion restrictions. National Right to Life says that Reid-Pelosi-Obamacare contains additional pools of directly appropriated funds that are not covered by any limitations regarding abortion, including $5 billion for a temporary high-risk health insurance pool program (Sec. 1101 on pages 45-52) and $6 billion in grants for health co-ops (Sec. 1322, pp. 169-180). This summer National Right to Life found three states applying for funds under this provision. NRL’s discovery of this forced the Obama administration to deny those funds but the administration said its decision “is not a precedent for other programs or policies…”

8. Reid-Pelosi-Obamacare allows plans in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program to cover abortion. This is a dramatic departure from long standing widely supported policy of not funding abortion with government funds.


9. There is no restriction on abortion in the Indian Health program. This provision negates Reid's previous vote to stop funding of abortion through the Indian health program.


10. Language in the Reid-Pelosi-Obamacare that restricts direct funding (not to be confused with subsidies) of abortion would be attached to the status of the Hyde amendment. That is, if the Hyde amendment-which only covers Medicaid abortions- continues to be reauthorized every year, direct funding restrictions in the health care reform law will remain in place. If the yearly approved Hyde amendment were to not pass, those restrictions of direct funding of abortion through health care will vanish.


In his debate with Sharron Angle, Reid tried once more to fool people into thinking that the Hyde Amendment prevents government funding of abortion through Reid-Pelosi-Obamacare. Reid knows that the Hyde amendment only prevents public funding of abortion through Medicaid but will have NO impact on preventing abortion from being funding through his health care law. He knows that Hyde is not a permanent law but a yearly amendment attached every year for the last thirty three years to the Health and Human Services bill.

Harry Reid had the chance to make sure his health care law would never fund abortion, but he refused to insert language to do so and fought against amendments that would at the behest of the abortion industry. Reid's health care law funds and subsidizes abortion. He made sure it does.



Thursday, October 21, 2010

Harry Reid Is The Last Person Who Should Call Anyone An Abortion Extremist

Harry Reid is the last person who should call Sharron Angle or anyone else, extreme on abortion. Reid's actions torpedo his protest that he is pro-life because he has helped implement the agenda of Planned Parenthood, NARAL and the abortion industry, including taxpayer funding of abortion in America and around the world.


1. Harry Reid wrote the health care reform law which contains massive government abortion funding provisions and he led the effort to defeat amendments that would have kept abortion out of health care. Americans, whether they are pro-life or pro-choice on abortion, oppose government funding by abortion by wide margins and support the long standing widely held provisions that prevent it.

Reid introduced his health care bill after the House passed the Stupak amendment which would have kept abortion out of health care. Reid could have easily left abortion funding and subsidies out or included the House's Stupak Amendment. Reid knew it takes 60 votes to put abortion language in or take it out. By including abortion language that will fund and subsidize abortion throughout pregnancy for any reason, Reid made his choice to give abortion advocates the advantage.

When an identical Senate version of the Stupak amendment to was submitted, Reid dutifully went to the Senate floor to keep it out. Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards explained later, "At a crucial moment, Majority Leader Reid went to the floor of the U.S. Senate to deliver his speech against the Senate version of the Stupak amendment."


2. Harry Reid supports funding of groups who provide and promote abortion around the world at United States taxpayer expense. Reid opposes the Mexico City policy that prohibits taxpayer funding to groups who perform abortions, promote abortion or lobby to change abortion laws in other nations. Reid voted twice against amendments that make sure that taxpayer funding does not go the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), which helps fund China's brutal One Child Policy that uses forced abortion and sterilization. The Cato Institute's Stephen Moore says, "This program will go down in history as one of the greatest abuses of human rights in the 20th century."


3. Harry Reid has opposed pro-life nominations to the Supreme Court and supported nominations of pro-abortion justices. In Reid's first year in the Senate, he helped defeat Judge Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court. The National Abortion Rights Action League says that, "The defeat of Robert Bork was the single most important victory for pro-choice forces during the 1980s."

But that's not all; Reid opposed the nominations of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, and Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court. Reid voted for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan. Justices Breyer and Ginsburg (former chief counsel for the ACLU) opposed laws banning brutal partial birth abortions. Harry Reid has been working to make sure abortion stays firmly entrenched by supporting radical justices for the Supreme Court while masquerading as being pro-life.


4. Harry Reid is a key ally of the abortion industry. While other abortion advocates claim friendship and a good relationship with Reid, Reid has a special relationship with abortion leader Planned Parenthood. Nevada Advocates for Planned Parenthood Affiliates' 2010 "Voter Guide" rates Reid as "Leans Pro-Choice," defined as "70-99% . . . Pro-Choice on many but not all, issues." Their guide also notes that Reid "carried policy for Planned Parenthood." It's no wonder Planned Parenthood also awarded him their "2008 Voice for Sound Policy" award. Reid has been fighting for Planned Parenthood and has even bragged about this award and being named a Planned Parenthood Nevada legislator of the year while claiming to be pro-life.


Reid deserves Planned Parenthood's ratings and award. Just after casting his vote against the Senate amendment to keep abortion out of health care, ABC News reported that while Reid may oppose abortion rights, Reid said it "doesn't mean I'm opposed to finding common ground for the greater good." Reid was and has been selling out unborn children for his political fortunes and doing the bidding of extremist abortion groups against the will of the American people.


That makes Harry Reid the last person who should call Sharron Angle or anyone else, extreme on abortion. Harry Reid is a phony to call himself pro-life and has long forfeited the right to do so due to his efforts to implement the agenda of Planned Parenthood, NARAL and the abortion industry in America and around the world.



Monday, October 18, 2010

Pro-Life Voting and Where to Vote Early in Nevada

Early Voting has begun in Nevada and for informational purposes, we suggest readers of Nevada LIFE News check out our good friends and colleagues at Nevada Right to Life and Nevada Concerned Citizens who have posted their recommendations to help pro-life voters be informed voters.


Click here to go to the Nevada Right to Life site. Scroll down to two articles, "Nevada Right to Life PAC (Political Action Committee) makes Federal Endorsements" and "LIFEPAC General Election Endorsements" to see what candidates they are recommending.


Click here to go to the Nevada Concerned Citizens site. Their endorsements are on the front page.


Nevada LIFE, the group I belong to, is not a PAC (Political Action Committee) and we do not make endorsements, though our board members are free to and do give personal endorsements.


Pro-lifers can always cross check with pro-abortion Planned Parenthood's voter guide to see what they say about a person's position on pro-life issues. It's important to note that when Planned Parenthood says someone is "pro" or "leans pro", that means they are pro-abortion, not pro-life. Planned Parenthood will favor the pro-abortion candidate, not the pro-life candidate.


Where to Vote. Click here to go to the Nevada Secretary of State's early voting page to find out where to vote early in your county.


How important are elections to our cause? If John McCain were president, McCain would have already appointed two pro-justices and we would have a 5-4 advantage on the court and Roe would be in jeopardy. There would be no abortion funding or subsidies in any health care reform, the Reagan-Bush Mexico City Policy would still be in effect and Americans would not be funding abortion, abortion counseling and abortion advocacy around the world. If McCain were president Americans would not be funding the forced abortion and sterilization China One Child Policy through our funding of the United Nations Population Fund, and we would not be encouraging international treaties through the UN which force other nations to change their pro-life abortion law and more. That's how important elections are.


Don't forget state races. We need pro-life legislators in Carson City to introduce pro-life legislation and to protect important pro-life laws and regulations still on the books.


This is another important election in a series of many more elections. Be an informed voter and vote pro-life.  If you live in California, go the California Pro-Life Council website.



Saturday, October 16, 2010

Reid Refused To Say Abortion Shouldn't Be Covered By His Health Care Law In Debate With Angle.


On Thursday night, in his debate with pro-life candidate Sharron Angle, Senator Harry Reid refused to say that abortion should not be covered under the health care reform act that Reid wrote.

When the moderator asked Reid and Angle a simple yes no question, "do you think the health care reform act should include coverage of abortion," Angle said "no," but Reid refused to say no. Instead, Reid said "the law we passed maintained Hyde, the Hyde amendment." When the moderator asked, "That would be it? Yes or no?" Reid said "under the law that exists today, the Hyde Amendment, which has been the law in this country for thirty years, is still there."(click here to watch this exchange)


Harry Reid knows that the Hyde amendment will not prohibit government funding or subsidies of abortion through the health care reform law he wrote. Harry Reid has been in the House and Senate for 28 years and he knows that the Hyde amendment does not apply to the health care reform law that he personally wrote.

Reid also knows that not only is the Hyde amendment not permanent law and that it is a yearly patch that must be voted on every year, Reid knows that the Hyde amendment applies only to funding through the department of health and human services and covers Medicaid. Other prohibitions, like the ban on federal funding for federal employees, the military, Indian health care and others, are covered by separate amendments. The Hyde amendment will continue to be necessary, but will not stop funding through health care reform.


Harry Reid had the chance to make sure that a Hyde type amendment was included to keep government funding and subsidies for abortion out of his health care bill. The Stupak amendment to the House of Representatives' health care bill closely replicated the Hyde amendment and would have excluded government funding and subsidies of abortion under health care reform. But after the House passed its bill with the Stupak amendment, Reid refused to include that same Stupak language in his bill. And when an identical Senate version of the Stupak amendment to keep abortion out of health care was submitted, Reid dutifully went to the Senate floor to keep it out. Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards explained later, "At a crucial moment, Majority Leader Reid went to the floor of the U.S. Senate to deliver his speech against the Senate version of the Stupak amendment."


Reid also knew it takes 60 votes in the Senate to take out language keep abortion out of health care and 60 votes to put it in by an amendment. That means that Reid chose to give the advantage to Planned Parenthood and abortion advocates.


Reid's repeated statement that the Hyde amendment will keep abortion out of health care shows his contempt for Nevadans, contempt for the truth and shows that he will say and doing anything to maintain his grip on power and to advance the interests of Planned Parenthood* and the abortion industry. Harry Reid cannot be trusted to tell the truth on abortion and no pro-lifer can trust him when he says he is pro-life. It's time for Reid to "man up" and tell the truth about abortion.


 


* Nevada Advocates for Planned Parenthood Affiliates' 2010 "Voter Guide" rates Reid as "Leans Pro-Choice," defined as "70-99% . . . Pro-Choice on many but not all, issues." This guide also notes that Reid "carried policy for Planned Parenthood." It's no wonder Planned Parenthood also awarded him their "2008 Voice for Sound Policy" award.