While Rep. Henry Waxman, Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and the moderate “Blue Dog ” Democrats wrestle over the cost of health care reform, another storm is brewing and it’s a nasty one: the abortion issue.
In a nutshell, the proposed bill doesn’t contain language prohibiting federal funding of abortion. Without that, it could be left up to a (newly created) Health Benefits Advisory Committee to decide which “essential benefits ” a government-supported insurance plan should offer.
The 1976 Hyde Amendment explicitly prevents the federal government from using tax dollars to fund abortion through Medicaid. However, if the government sponsors its own competitive plan, or if it assists in creating a new market in which the public could select from various private health insurance plans, the Hyde Amendment wouldn’t apply.
This isn’t sitting well with pro-lifers. “Unless you can specifically exclude abortion, it will be part of any federalized health care system, ” said Charmaine Yoest, executive director of Americans United for Life.
Nineteen Democrats have already written Pelosi to say that they “cannot support any health care proposal unless it excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan. ”
President Obama has so far attempted to remain neutral on the issue saying, “I think that it’s appropriate for us to figure out how to just deliver on the cost savings and not get distracted by the abortion debate, ” in an interview with CBS News. But it’s doubtful he can avoid the question for too long, and the firestorm this represents could be deadly.