Health Care Reform that Funds Abortion Does Not Lead to Strong Families

The newest health care reform plan announced a few days ago by its Chairman, Senator Max Baucus, actually requires taxpayer funding abortion coverage, though media coverage of the new plan is less than truthful.

Here are some FACTS about the new proposal:

The new health care reform proposal deals with the issue of abortion by incorporating language very similar to the Capps amendment compromise in the House of Representatives (which was narrowly accepted in the House Energy and Commerce Committee) though not in the form of a public option. The Baucus bill provides $6 billion for the establishment of health insurance cooperatives which would be permitted to cover abortion. Under the new proposal, abortions not addressed under the Hyde amendment (currently in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother) can be mandated in the minimum benefits package. The Hyde amendment is revisited and challenged every year because of the limitations it presents on abortion. A minimum benefits package that mandates coverage is extreme.

Contrary to the current federal practice of not subsidizing health plans that cover abortion, the proposed Baucus reform will allow refundable tax-credits that can even be received in advance, as well as allowing cost-sharing credits to be applied to plans that pay for abortion provided an accounting is employed to label the funds used to pay for abortion as private premium dollars. This is supreme deception. To achieve this accounting requirement, plans that cover abortion will collect a mandatory abortion surcharge from each premium payer as a part of each subsidized premium payment.

Michigan Democrat congressman Bart Stupak refutes the false claims that Baucus amendment proponents make about abortion coverage not being funded by taxpayers in the health care reform proposals at this link .

Abortion does not strengthen or restore families, but is destructive to both mother and child. Health care should not be about abortion in any manner. For more information, go to http://www.stoptheabortionmandate.com .