The Abortion Question Needs an Answer!

The health care debate is going around in circles over the abortion question. Will the health care bill allow federal dollars to be used toward abortion coverage or not? Well, from what the media is reporting–the majority of the House and President Obama say no federal money for abortions.

But the specification in the bill is the matter of debate–there are options for lower income families of providing tax credits that could be used to attain abortion coverage. Wouldn’t that mean government money could be spent towards reproductive services?

According to the AP article Abortion divides House Dems in Health Care Debate, there are two dozen anti-abortion democrats who want to make sure that the bill clearly prohibits federal funding of abortions.

Some believe the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal money being used towards abortions “except in cases of rape and incest or if the mother’s life would be endangered,” would answer the abortion question. Others report that there are discrepancies with the amendment and that it only applies to Medicaid.

On the Life News website, this article gives both sides of the debate over the Hyde Amendment. According to National Right to Life federal legislative director Douglas Johnson and AP, the Hyde Amendment does not apply to the new health care bill.

However, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs claimed that the Hyde Amendment directly prohibits federal funding of abortions. The Life News website believes that Gibbs mislead reporters.

In my opinion, a new amendment should be established where there is no confusion in the language of the amendment. Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not specify if there will be an amendment on abortion, and said the current focus is on “our policy on this legislation.”

Yes, I agree that the health care bill overall and the public option should be the priority, but the issue of abortion cannot be ignored. There is too much controversy in the media not to answer the question: Will women receive abortion coverage or not?

---