[ProLife|Family] A picture worth 50 Million Innocent Lives

[Sue Cifelli]

November 16, 2009

 

The Obama-nation of Abortion Coverage

Health care may be on Sen. Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) Thanksgiving menu, but it could be awhile before the Senate talks turkey. The Majority Leader started the Rule 14 process last week, which basically means the House bill would be available on the legislative calendar by tomorrow. Of course, just because it's on the Senate calendar doesn't mean the chamber will do anything with it. In order to start considering the bill, Sen. Reid would need 60 votes on his motion to proceed. With shaky support from his own party, that prospect seems highly unlikely. If any of the 58 Democrats and two Independents vote against the motion, the bill would stall. In case you're wondering why the Senate is considering the House bill instead of its own version, H.R. 3962 is just a placeholder. Because tax bills can't originate in the Senate, Sen. Reid is using the House legislation as a shell. Eventually, that shell will be replaced by the Senate health care bill, which is still under construction in closed door meetings of the Senate leadership.

One of the biggest questions on everyone's mind is whether the Stupak-Pitts amendment will survive the secret negotiations. Yesterday, Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) was blunt about the bill's chances without it. "What is clear is that for this bill to be successful, there can be no taxpayer funding for abortion," he said. And he's right. The Stupak amendment was the only popular thing about H.R. 3962. PelosiCare passed by a measly five votes, while the amendment to strip abortion funding won by a landslide (46 votes)! That fact seems to be completely lost on the President, who can't backpedal fast enough on his promise that "no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions."

Yesterday, White House Senior Advisor David Axelrod hinted that the President will do everything he can to strip the ban from the final bill, claiming that "the amendment changes the 'status quo,' something the President cannot abide." What changes the status quo is government-run health care. The Stupak amendment just adds the current restrictions to it. Planned Parenthood is already predicting an end to the amendment at the hands of the President, who President Cecile Richards calls her "strongest weapon." Meanwhile, her allies still insist on spinning the debate not as a denial of federal funding for abortion, but as a denial of the "right" to abortion--which is absurd. Under the Stupak amendment, women can get as many elective abortions as they want. But taxpayers have no more obligations to pay for that elective procedure than they do for a woman's elective plastic surgery.

Tell that to a group called Blue America. For every person who signs a petition to block the Stupak amendment, its leaders are sending coat hangers to 20 of the House Democrats who voted for it. "We're telling [them] ... [not to] take us back to an era of coat hangers and back alley abortions." Somebody ought to point out to them that this campaign is just exposing the lie of the pro-abortion movement. Why would they want to put something back in the bill that they said was never there?

Adult Stem Cell Success: It's Not Just in Kansas Anymore!

This past Saturday, FRC celebrated a new chapter for patients with disabling diseases and injuries with the launch of our Adult Stem Cells Saved My Life Education & Awareness Campaign in Kansas City . For three hours, patients shared their stories of how adult stem cells improved their health, saved their families, and gave them hope. The campaign is committed to raising awareness that adult stem cell treatments are available for patients, promoting access to therapies, encouraging development of more adult stem cell treatments, and dedicated to educating the public, policy makers, and the medical community about the medical miracles of adult stem cell transplants.

To see a news report from the event, click here.

Health Care "Reform" vs. Real Reform

According to Speaker Pelosi's definition of health care "reform," states can only get funding for liability demonstration projects IF they don't cap damages or attorneys' fees. Earlier this month the Congressional Budget Office said that tort reform would save $54 billion over the next decade. Another Health and Human Services study found reasonable limits placed on non-economic damages would reduce cost by an estimated $25.3 billion to $44.3 billion annually. Not to mention that several states have discovered millions in savings by introducing tort reform. As the Wall Street Journal reports, "30 states have adopted caps on awards as the core of their reform with huge success. Texas imposed malpractice caps in 2003, and the state has been rewarded with fewer lawsuits, a 50% drop in malpractice premiums, and a flood of new doctors." One reason why trial lawyers are left untouched could be the millions they give to Democrats every election cycle.

 



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Sue -

 

Can you send the picture separately, please? It didn't take in the email with the story.

 

Sorry there's a problem -

 

Sean