Health Care Bill

"Health Care Bill"

[note - all errors are original to the email]

From: XXXXX@gmail.com
To: XXXXX@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2010
Subject: FW:"Health Care Bill"

Why the Senate bill must be stopped

by Joshua Mercer on March 18th, 2010

1. The Senate bill provides up to $11 billion for Community Health Centers. Read the factsheet by the USCCB for why this money will pay for abortions.

2. Sister Mary Ann Walsh explains why the Senate bill ends a decades-long prohibition of federal funding of abortion.

3. Cardinal Dinardo, Bishop Westen and Bishop Murphy explain that the current bill also lacks conscience protections for doctors and nurses who don't want to participate in abortions and other procedures that violate their faith.

4. Some, like Prof. Jost, claim the Senate bill isn't pro-abortion. USCCB gives a point-by-point answer to Prof. Jost.

Other important links:

A. Cardinal George's statement answering the Catholic Health Association: "The Cost is too High; the Loss is too Great"
B. The one-page factsheet from the USCCB explaining how the Senate bill covers abortion.
C. The factsheet explaining the Stupak Amendment.

Response

Hey, thanks for passing this along.

Health care reform is supposed to be about making health insurance affordable for the millions of Americans who don't have it and protecting consumers from the abusive practices of big insurance companies -- not abortion.  Therefore, I would also not be happy if the legislation allowed federal funding for abortions as this email suggests. 

But I did some research and, luckily, it turns out that the Senate bill does NOT provide federal funding for abortion. 

In fact, many pro-life activists have recently come out in support of the health care bill.  The National Catholic Reporter reported: "Twenty-five pro-life Catholic theologians and Evangelical leaders yesterday sent letters to members of Congress urging them not to let misleading information about abortion provisions in the Senate health care bill block passage of sorely-needed reform."

Their letter states that "the longstanding restrictions on federal funding of abortion have been maintained" in the pending legislation.  You can read the whole thing here: http://ncronline.org/print/17396

59,000 Catholic nuns also wrote a letter to members of Congress urging them to pass the bill.  The Associated Press reported: "The letter says that 'despite false claims to the contrary, the Senate bill will not provide taxpayer funding for elective abortions.' The letter says the legislation also will help support pregnant women and 'this is the real pro-life stance.' Check it out: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g_Ug4ob_BnBCfuvKzjuWhiHTk8ZQD9EGE7JO0

ABC News also looked at the controversy and concluded that Congressman Stupak's claims about the Senate bill are wrong.  You can see that here: http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201003040058

Even some of Congressman Stupak's pro-life allies in the House now disagree with him.  For example, Michigan Congressman Dale Kildee recently announced that he is "convinced that the Senate language maintains the Hyde amendment, which states that no federal money can be used for abortion." He also noted: "I have listened carefully to both sides, sought counsel from my priest, advice from family, friends and constituents, and I have read the Senate abortion language more than a dozen times." In other words, he did his due diligence and concluded that the bill does not fund abortion.

So, it's pretty clear that the health care bill does NOT break with the current policy.  A lot of people who just want to stop health care reform are trying to scare people into opposing a bill that will help millions of Americans.  It's really important that you get all the facts so you won't be fooled.

Thanks, and I'll talk to you soon.