Symptom of the Disease: Abortion funding by government
Many Democrats are concerned about the language in the $1.2 trillion health care presented by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that allows for a loophole – there’s that word again – to indirectly fund abortion.
Some call it an accounting gimmick, but this is a very clear example of a symptom of the disease. More from today’s Washington Post.
The abortion dispute centers both on federal subsidies that would be provided for people who cannot afford health-care coverage themselves and the much-debated government insurance alternative, which is included in the House version of the bill but is still being debated in the Senate. Under a 1976 law, federal funds are generally barred from being used for abortions, except in cases of rape or incest or to ensure the life of the mother.
Democratic leaders early this summer backed a provision that would allow people to use subsidies under the bill to buy insurance plans that cover abortion, but only funds from individual or employer health-care premiums could go toward paying for an abortion. Effectively, insurance companies would be tasked with segregating money from government payments from those coming from private sources, and only the latter could be used for abortion.
The accounting trick will not work for pro-lifers who don’t want one dollar of public funding to go towards abortions. The hypocrisy is thick.
If I suggested increasing taxes to fund the purchase of bibles for Catholic schools, many Democrats, liberals and progressives would totally freak out. And do you know what? I would agree their tax money should not be stolen from them to buy the bibles for the kids.
Just ensure their is clear language in any health care legislation. Ensure no money can be stolen from me to fund abortions in the United States – or anywhere else for that matter – and we’ll be just fine.
To clarify before I hit the Publish button… I don’t think there should be any federal health care legislation in the first place, and no, I don’t think federal funds should be used for abortions in cases of rape or incest either.
Update: Hot Air is discussing tonight, and Malkin has also chimed in.
