WASHINGTON – By a
bipartisan vote of 251-172, the U.S. House of
Representatives today approved the
Protect Life Act (H.R. 358), a bill
to nullify the multiple
abortion-expanding provisions of the
2010 federal health care law ("ObamaCare").
On October 5, Secretary of Health
and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius
vehemently defended the 2010 health
care law in a speech to a NARAL
Pro-Choice America fundraiser,
saying 'we are in a war' with
critics of the law. On October 12,
the White House issued a formal veto
threat against the Protect Life
Act. "President Obama won enactment
of ObamaCare in 2010 partly by
pretending that the bill did not
expand abortion -- but now the mask
is coming off," said NRLC
Legislative Director Douglas
Johnson.
In an October 6 letter to U.S. House
members, NRLC noted that the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA,
Public Law 111-148, "ObamaCare") ".
. . contained multiple provisions
that provide authorizations for
subsidies for abortion, both
implicit and explicit, and also
multiple provisions that opened
doors to abortion-expanding
administrative actions." The
Protect Life Act would prohibit the
use of any PPACA-authorized funds
for abortions or to subsidize health
plans that cover abortions, except
to save the life of the mother, or
in cases of rape or incest. The
Protect Life Act would not restrict
the sale or purchase of insurance
coverage for abortion with
non-federal funds.
During today's debate, opponents of
the bill repeatedly claimed that it
would allow hospitals to deny women
"emergency" abortions. In reality,
the bill does not change the
longstanding federal law in
question, called EMTALA, which
requires that in an "emergency" a
hospital must do its best to
stabilize both the pregnant mother
and her "unborn child" (which is the
term used in the statute). The
Protect Life Act allows federal
funding of an abortion required to
save a mother's life.
The Protect Life Act is sponsored by
Congressman Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) and
Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-Il.).
On today's vote on passage, the bill
was supported by 236 Republicans and
15 Democrats. It was opposed by 170
Democrats and two Republicans.
NRLC's Douglas Johnson presented
detailed information on the
abortion-expanding provisions of
ObamaCare, and regarding the need
for the Protect Life Act, in
testimony before the Subcommittee on
Health of the Committee on Energy
and Commerce on February 9, 2011:
www.nrlc.org/AHC/ProtectLifeActDouglasJohnsonTestimony.pdf.
Founded in 1968, the National Right
to Life Committee (NRLC), the
federation of 50 state right-to-life
affiliates and more than 3,000 local
chapters, is the nation's oldest and
largest grassroots pro-life
organization. Recognized as the
flagship of the pro-life movement,
NRLC works through legislation and
education to protect innocent human
life from abortion, infanticide,
assisted suicide and euthanasia.
To go to the Abortion in Health
Care index, click
here.
To go to the NRLC Home page, click
here.
To go to the NRLC Legislative Action Center, click
here.
