Abortion Coverage: House Versus Senate Bill
What are the differences between abortion coverage in the House versus the Senate bill?
-The House has 25 mentions of abortion versus the Senate’s 21.
-The Senate Bill mandates federally funded abortion coverage, where the House Bill passed the Stupak Amendment, which bans federally subsidized coverage that could ultimately lead to denying abortion coverage in private plans.
-According to Andrea Simoncic of the Examiner, “the Senate bill simply provides abortion funding in a much more direct and honest manner” than the House Bill. Tax dollars will be mandated for abortion coverage in the Senate Bill.
Regardless of which bill passes in the House or the Senate, there have been rumors that President Obama does not support Stupak and could intervene in the final legislation. However, Stupak told Fox News that “They’re not going to take it out. If they do, health care will not move forward.”
Wow. Really? It’s not possible for national health coverage to pass if it includes abortion coverage? I thought we lived in a modern society. But we also live in a society where women pay 48 percent more for health insurance than men. Pregnancy and reproductive health coverage can be denied in insurance plans due to a “pre-existing condition.”
There is a lot of room for reform in the American health care system, but I am willing to wait for nationalizing health care if it does not include reproductive health coverage. If we have waited this long, why not wait a little longer and get it right?
Nancy Pelosi: A Powerful Woman in Health Reform
ABC News identifies Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as “the most powerful and polarizing woman in the history of American politics.” Pelosi is the first woman who has held the position of House speaker, and she understands the pressure that comes with her job.
In the ABC interview, Pelosi said she is a target as a woman and liberal in politics. She ignores the Republican and conservative Blue Dog Democrats discontent with the health care reform bill. I greatly respect Pelosi for remaining confident and driven in attaining a government insurance option.
Most recently, Pelosi gave a speech at the front of the Capitol for the unveiling of the current health care reform bill and a heckler yelled “burn in hell,” which she brushed off by saying: “Thank you insurance companies of America.” It is important for her to show strength against opposition, but also not to stoop to their level and I think she did this gracefully with a little humor.
Her toughest critic is Fox News, who made fun of Pelosi’s response to the heckler by reenacting the exchange in “Fox and Friends” with hosts Steve Doocey and Alisyn Camerota. Fox columnist, Ken Klukowski, wrote an open letter to Pelosi and White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs that calls the health care reform legislation unconstitutional. Klukowski claims that there is no individual mandate that allows the bill.
Pelosi does not see this as a “serious question” that would prohibit the passing of the health care bill. Klukowski goes on to say, “Should you insist on passing a law penalizing — or even making it a crime — for people not to buy insurance, then Congress and President Obama run the risk of a stern judicial rebuke.”
The fact is that the health care reform bill would not require people to buy the government insurance option. Americans who want to keep their existing private plans are free to do so.
Medi-Gal 