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TODAY'S NEWS & VIEWS


"Today's News & Views" is an exciting daily feature, a welcome addition to the wealth of material found on the National Right to Life's web page.  "Today's News & Views" is written in a style that appeals not only to committed pro-lifers but to anyone with an open mind on the greatest social justice issue of our day: abortion.  "Today's News & Views" will cover the waterfront.  One day, the web surfer will find a commentary on a recent prime-time television program, the next day a book review, the day after that notice of a new pro-life video, the day after that added details that go beyond that found in stories written for the National Right to Life News--"the right to life newspaper of record."  The goal is to make the contents of "Today's News & Views" so interesting that visitors will bookmark the page [www.nrlc.org] and make visits a regular part of their day.
    --Dave Andrusko

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Today's News & Views
November 19, 2009

Mirroring Hyde or Mirroring the Hidden Pro-Abortion Agenda?
Part One of Three


By Dave Andrusko

Part Two is an encouragement to use Social Networking to get the word out about TN&V. Part Three is a sobering look at the assisted suicide debate in the United Kingdom. Please send your comments on any or all of the three parts to daveandrusko@gmail.com. If you'd like, follow me on http://twitter.com/daveha.

Yesterday NRLC eloquently responded to the pro-abortion language in the health care "reform" bill offered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. In a word--actually two words--it was "completely unacceptable." I've reproduced the statement below and will tack on a couple of comments after that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

National Right to Life Committee Rejects Reid Abortion Funding Language as
"Completely Unacceptable," Calls for Enactment of Stupak-Pitts Amendment

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nv.) has rejected the bipartisan Stupak-Pitts Amendment and has substituted completely unacceptable language that would result in coverage of abortion on demand in two big new federal government programs.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)

Reid seeks to cover elective abortions in two big new federal health programs, but tries to conceal that unpopular reality with layers of contrived definitions and hollow bookkeeping requirements.

Rep. Lois Capps (D-Ca.), who has a 100% pro-abortion voting record, said in a press release following release of the Reid language: "It appears that their approach closely mirrors my language which was originally included in the House bill." The Capps language referred to was opposed by NRLC and other pro-life organizations and was deleted by the House by a vote of 240-194 on November 7, as 64 Democrats (one fourth of all House Democrats), along with 176 Republicans, voted to replace it with the Stupak-Pitts Amendment.

The Stupak-Pitts Amendment would prevent federal subsidies for abortion by applying the principles of longstanding federal laws such as the Hyde Amendment to the new programs created by the health care legislation. Those principles prohibit both direct funding of abortion procedures, and subsidies for plans that cover elective abortions, in existing federal programs such as Medicaid, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and the military.

Regrettably but predictably, Reid rejected the bipartisan Stupak-Pitts language. Instead, Reid has sought to please the militant minority that demands funding of abortion through federal programs, even though substantial majorities of Americans believe that abortion should be excluded from government-funded and government-sponsored health programs.

The Reid bill establishes a big new federal health insurance program, the public option (although now referred to in Reid's bill as the "community health insurance option"). The bill authorizes (on page 118) the federal Secretary of Health and Human Services to require coverage of any and all abortions throughout the public option program. This would be federal government funding of abortion, no matter how hard they try to disguise it.

In addition, the bill creates new tax-supported subsidies to purchase private health plans that will cover abortion on demand.

National Right to Life will continue to fight for the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, and to oppose the stubborn attempts of congressional Democratic leaders to establish new federal government programs that will fund coverage of elective abortions.

For extensive further documentation on the Stupak-Pitts Amendment and other aspects of the issue, visit the NRLC website at www.nrlc.org/ahc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congresswoman Capps, as noted above, said that the approach of the Reid language "closely mirrors my language which was originally included in the House bill." NRLC has explained, on numerous occasions, why the Capps language was completely unacceptable. Fortunately, it was deleted when the House adopted the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, but, unfortunately, it's been disinterred and put back in the Senate bill promoted by Majority Leader Reid.

Just as Reid's language mirrors Capp's pro-abortion language, Stupak-Pitts mirrors the pro-life language of the Hyde Amendment. Don't take my word for it. Gerald Seib, of the Wall Street Journal, noted last Friday that "The Hyde Amendment's language is reproduced almost precisely in the Stupak amendment."

In genuinely extending the principles of the Hyde Amendment that govern all of the current federal health programs, the Stupak-Pitts amendment maintains longstanding federal policy. Disingenuously the Capps' language would insert the federal government into the abortion-funding business in two very big ways, both of which would mark sharp breaks from longstanding federal policy (see above).

In so doing, Capps' proposed House bill language--and now the language in Reid's Senate bill–are doing exactly what pro-abortion President Barack Obama told ABC's Jake Tapper last week shouldn't be done–"in some way sneaking in funding for abortions…"

Please send your thoughts and comments to daveandrusko@gmail.com.

Part Two
Part Three


ARCHIVES

November 2009
Mirroring Hyde or Mirroring the Hidden Pro-Abortion Agenda? -- November 19, 2009
Fiction, Fallacies, and Facts about Health Care "Reform" -- November 18, 2009
What the Media Going Bonkers over Palin's "Going Rogue" Tells Us -- November 17, 2009
Pro-Abortion President Barack Obama and Pro-Lifers: One Year Later -- November 16, 2009
An Update on Health Care "Reform" as We Head into the Weekend -- November 13, 2009
Forced Abortion in China No Thing of the Past -- November 12, 2009
Study Finds High Rate of RU486 Abortion Complications -- November 11, 2009
Round One to Pro-Lifers, But Fight Just Begun As Action Shifts to Senate -- November 10, 2009
NRLC "Disrupts Obama Administration's Pro-Abortion Smuggling Operation," But Further Battles Ahead -- November 9, 2009
At the Eleventh Hour Four Important Considerations Which Will Motivate You to Call Congress -- November 6, 2009
Call Congress Today! -- November 5, 2009
NRLC Needs to You to Call Congress Today; Pro-Lifers Win in Virginia and New Jersey -- November 4, 2009
Palin, Obama, and Tuesday's Elections -- November 3, 2009
A Last-Minute Electoral Catch Up; Planned Parenthood Employee Quits -- November 2, 2009

October 2009
An Overview of Next Tuesday's Important Off-Year Elections -- October 30, 2009
The Latest Phase of the War on CPCs Begins in Baltimore -- October 29, 2009
Pro-Abortionists Hit Panic Button Over "Law & Order's" Program on Abortion -- October 28, 2009
Abortions in Ohio Drop to All-Time Low -- October 27, 2009
A Follow-Up on "Law & Order" and the Importance of a New Oklahoma Law -- October 26, 2009
"Law & Order's" Wholly Unexpected Treatment of Abortion Is Must-Watch Television -- October 23, 2009
Seeing Through Fresh Eyes -- October 22, 2009
Observing the Infinite Capacity for Self-Deception -- October 21, 2009
A Long Night's Journey into Dehumanization and the Moral Incoherence of Abortions -- October 20, 2009
Sometimes You Need to Read Between the Lines, Sometimes It's Right There in Black and White -- October 19, 2009
Pro-Lifers Exploiting Facebook's Enormous Potential -- October 16, 2009
News From Canada, South Korea, and Argentina -- October 15, 2009
All Committees Have Reported Bills With Rationing Concerns -- October 14, 2009

New York Times Shows Photos of Aborted Babies on Its Webpage -- October 13, 2009
Do the Math: What Happens when Bureaucrats Counsel Patients? -- October 12, 2009
Refusing to Allow the Memory of the Notre Dame Tragedy to Fade -- October 9, 2009
Bioethicists, Worthwhile Lives, and Health Care "Reform" -- October 8, 2009
NRL Ed Trust Fund Honors Prof. Mary Ann Glendon -- October 7, 2009
A Strategic Misfire by Deeds -- October 6, 2009
Prior to New Supreme Court Session, Cardinal Pleads for the Unborn -- October 5, 2009
"A Mish-Mash of Half-Truths and Myths, Taped Together with Non Sequiturs" -- October 2, 2009
The Real Agenda of Pro-Abortionists -- October 1, 2009

September 2009
Man Charged with Double Murder for
Shooting Pregnant Girlfriend Who Refused Abortion
-- September 30, 2009

Abortion and Health Care "Reform": the Battle Goes On -- September 29, 2009
The National Book Festival, Jodi Picoult, and Just Looking Around -- September 28, 2009
Accidentally on Purpose -- September 25, 2009
"If This Doesn't Scare You, Nothing Will" -- September 24, 2009
A Blog You Should be Reading -- September 23, 2009
"Impossible Motherhood": What the Story of an "Abortion Addiction" May Tells Us -- September 22, 2009
"We've  Been Rooting for the Baby the Whole Time" -- September 21, 2009
The Science Journal Nature Thinks NICE Is Nice–Naturally -- September 18, 2009
Sharing the Wealth -- September 17, 2009
Three in One -- September 16, 2009
The Public's Growing Disenchantment With News Organizations -- September 15, 2009
The Road Less Traveled -- September 14, 2009
Empowering You to Perform Your Noble Service on Behalf of the Greatest Human Rights Struggle on Earth; Remembering 9/11-- September 11, 2009
About Last Night's Speech -- September 10, 2009
The Truth About Health-Care Reform and Abortion -- September 10, 2009
The Washington Post's Unrelenting Campaign to Elect Another
Pro-Abortion Governor in Virginia
-- September 9, 2009

Physician-Assisted Suicide Case Heard by Montana Supreme Court -- September 8, 2009
Teenagers--A Beacon of Hope in Turbulent Times -- September 4, 2009
Kevorkian Opens Up on Cable News -- September 3, 2009
Propagandizing Elementary School Children -- September 2, 2009
Abortionists' Ranks Shrinking -- September 1, 2009

Additional Archives