The Real Status Quo on Abortion and Federal Insurance
Ernest Istook /
Trying to pretend that he’s a moderate voice, President Barack Obama is misrepresenting the history of federal funding of abortions.
Seeking to appease abortion advocates after the House voted to ban abortion coverage within new federal insurance plans, President Obama told ABC News, “We’re not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions. . . . There needs to be some more work before we get to the point where we’re not changing the status quo.”
But without the House’s Stupak-Pitts Amendment, the long-standing federal policy would be reversed. The policy is that federal insurance programs don’t cover abortion unless it’s rape, incest or to save a mother’s life. No artificial distinction is made between federal and private dollars.
Obama is offering a gimmick by proposing that “only” private dollars (which have been mingled with taxpayer money) could be spent on abortions—a bookkeeping sleight-of-hand. An honest look at the history of federal funding for health insurance shows the falsity of Obama’s argument. (more…)