The House bill (H.R. 3962) initially did not address the issue of abortion at all, but it was implied that individuals on the proposed public option would be able to exercise "reproductive care" which would have included abortions.
Pro-Life Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich) threatened Nancy Pelosi saying that he and 40 other democrats would derail the bill before ever reaching the House Floor if she did not allow a vote on his amendment, known as the "Stupak Amendment." His proposed amendment explicitly prohibits all federal funds from being used in abortions.
Specifically, his amendment prohibits the proposed public option from covering abortion services of any kind. It also prevents individuals who receive "affordability credits" from purchasing a private plan that covers elective abortions.
Pelosi, fearing that the bill would never reach a full vote, was forced to allow a vote on Stupak's amendment. On November 7, the House passed Stupak's amendment, with a vote of 240-194. This represents a victory in the House for conservatives. There were 64 democrat representatives who voted in favor of the amendment, and at least 40 of the 64 claimed they would vote against the bill if the amendment failed.
Ironically, the notably more conservative Senate is ignoring the House's decision. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is caught in yet another lie. On November 10, Reid told LifeNews.Com that he is confident the Senate "will ensure that no federal funds are used for abortion." Contrary to Reid's statement, Douglas Johnson, Director for National Right to Life said there's no reason to believe Reid when he says there will be no federally-funded abortion.
A little over a week later, Reid was revealed as a liar, and Douglas Johnson was correct. On November 19, the Senate's health care bill as revealed by Harry Reid himself showed massive spending for abortion funding.
Pages 116-124 give explicit outlines requiring at least one insurance plan in every market exchange to contain abortion coverage, allow abortion coverage in the public option, and create new tax-funded subsidies to purchase private health plans that will cover abortion.
Ironically, the Senate has had little discussion over the wording in Reid's bill. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) originally planned to propose an amendment that would read much like Stupak's amendment in the House bill. However, it is unlikely that he will receive 60 votes in the Senate to override the likely pro-abortion filibuster that would result from his amendment proposition.
Although conservatives see it as a danger that the Senate may pass a bill that allows tax-funded abortions, it actually may be what it takes to shoot down health care reform all together... at least for now.
If the bill does pass the Senate, allowing federally funded abortions, it's likely that those 40 democrat representatives in the House would vote against the bill. As you may know, the Senate and the House must both agree to exactly the same bill, and there are 40 House democrats who have previously threatened to vote against any legislation that will allow for tax-funded abortions.
There is still light at the end of the tunnel for conservatives. If, after reading this, you're asking "What can I do to help?" I have an answer for you. Write your Representative and Senators and urge them to oppose tax-funded abortions of any kind. We already convinced at least 40 democrats in the House to vote against any tax-funded abortions, but the Senate may have a hard time. Go to http://opencongress.org to find links to email your representative and senators. Contact is key. Share your thoughts, and tell them you will not vote for them in the next election if they support tax-funded abortions.
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