The following letter was sent to most members of
the U.S. Senate on August 1, 2007.
Dear Senator:
The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) urges
you to support an amendment to be offered to the
SCHIP reauthorization bill by Senator Allard
(amendment no. 2535), which would codify a 2002
regulation that recognizes an "unborn child" as a
"child" eligible to receive SCHIP coverage.
NRLC intends to include the roll call on the Allard
Amendment No. 2535 in its scorecard of key pro-life
roll call votes for the 110th Congress.
The original SCHIP statute allowed states to provide
coverage to "children," defined as "individuals who
have not attained age 19." On October 2, 2002, the
Department of Health and Human Services issued a
Final Rule (42 CFR Part 457) that clarified that the
term "child" included "the period from conception to
birth." Thus, since 2002, states have had the
option of providing SCHIP coverage to unborn
children. Eleven states have exercised this
option: AR, CA, IL, LA, MA, MI, MN, RI, TX, WA, and
WI.
The reauthorization bill approved by the Senate
Finance Committee (now pending as Baucus Substitute
Amendment No. 2530 to H.R. 976) amends the SCHIP
statute to allow states to cover "pregnant women" of
any age. It also contains language that asserts
that the bill does not affirm either the legality or
illegality of the 2002 "unborn child" rule. This
agnostic language leaves the rule vulnerable to
possible nullification by a future Administration.
Senator Allard's amendment would codify the
principle of the rule, by amending the SCHIP law to
clarify that a covered child "includes, at the
option of a State, an unborn child." The amendment
further defines "unborn child" as "a member of the
species homo sapiens, at any stage of development,
who is carried in the womb." This definition is
drawn verbatim from Public Law 108-212, the Unborn
Victims of Violence Act, which applied the
definition to the federal criminal code (Title 18 of
the U.S. Code). The Unborn Victims of Violence Act
was approved by the Senate on March 25, 2004, on a
vote of 61-38 (roll call no. 63).
The Allard Amendment would also clarify that the
coverage for the unborn child may include provision
of "services to benefit either the mother or unborn
child consistent with the health of both." This is
intended to address reports that some states may
have denied coverage to mothers for injuries or
disorders that did not directly affect the unborn
child (e.g., a broken arm).
In addition, the Allard Amendment clarifies that
states may provide mothers with postpartum services
for 60 days after they give birth.
National Right to Life urges your support for the
Allard Amendment, and intends to include the roll
call on the amendment in its scorecard of key
pro-life votes of the 110th Congress.
Sincerely,
Douglas Johnson
Legislative Director
National Right to Life Committee
(202) 626-8820
To return to the NRLC home page, click
here.
To view or download a PDF copy of this letter, click
here.
