Will Health Care Reform Include Taxpayer Funding for Abortion?

Of course it will. An eventually it will include acupuncture, chiropractic care, medical marijuana, spiritual healers, cosmetic surgery, aroma therapy, and you name it. The checkbook is open, c’mon in!

So now the insurance companies are getting their media and GOP surrogates to cry “abortion”, knowing that nothing in the reform forces anyone to change from what they have currently by way of insurance coverage including benefit coverage, and knowing that the public option will most likely follow the current government rule of no coverage unless needed for health of or to prevent the death of the mother. And ABC News lends their media to this disingenuous attack with near zero analysis about how much of a lie it is.

Who the heck cares?
Just get the public health care option in place – the country needs it. And get the minority religious whack jobs out of the government and extricate them from such important legislation.
If you don’t want an abortion – don’t get one.
Separation of church and state – that is an American conservative principle – I know because the Almighty told me so.

We have the best medical care in the world. The people in the U.S. and Japan are living longer than any other country. Japan has there diet that helps add to there longer life. Us has better medical care that is lowering heart problems. The government should spend more time devoted to proper diets. That would lower medical cost and lead to longer life span. Longer life could extend working years and add more tax income for the president to spend.

Martin, you better check your facts because you’re wrong. You’re just repeating something you heard from some conservative “expert”………our health system ranks lower then Costa Rica……we’re 37th on that list. We live 2 years shorter than all the developed countries in Europe.

Skip,
Life expectancy is not the only criteria for a good medical system. There may be other reasons for a shorter life expectancy not addressable with medical care.

dk…….the pre-requisite for a seat in the Obamanation Presidency is not paying taxes and being a class 1 thug to boot!
What say ye now?

If we are to be responsible citizens, we must expect that keeping unwanted children, or having mothers unprepared to provide proper care, is much worse than abortion.
Abortion itself, is mostly a religious issue by people who are always unreasonable, and unyielding.
Social ills, promoted by improper raising of children, is far worse. Then we have crime, violence, and children who become bad parents themselves, over time, which grows exponentially, as a continually expanding social problem. precisely why we have so much crime in our world, today. Irresponsible parents, improperly raising children, are one of our biggest social problems.

If abortion isn’t funded, why should pre-natal care or childbirth be covered? Isn’t having a child a choice? Forced-birthers don’t like their tax dollars to pay for abortion — well, I don’t like my tax dollars funding other people’s reproduction. Fair’s fair — right?

I think that it is important for people to take time to listen to the debate on health care reform and understand the costs that will be involved. Healthcare is not free, and somebody has to pay for it. Raising taxes on the wealthy is legal piracy. Why do they have to pay for the nation’s health care just because they have money? How is that fair? For those who are all for it, it is my fondest wish that you make a lot of money someday so that you can experience what is like to take risk, sacrifice, and work hard only to have the government take 30% of your paycheck because you are a producer. If healthcare is to a universal privilege, then all should contribute to it equally. That would be fair.
I also want to point out that a federal health plan would destroy private health plans. If given a choice between paying a monthly premium or having free coverage, what do you think people will choose?

=== Fair’s fair — right? ===
Absolutely. Everyone provide their own healthcare and it won’t be anyone’s business.

Our founding fathers, when laying out the rights of man in their declaration of independence mentioned the right to life first. This is because all other rights, like gay-marriage, government paid health care, depend on the fundamental right; life.
At what point in a person’s life does is he vested in the “right to life”? Some would argue at conception. Others would argue at birth. Still others would deny that life is a fundamental right at all.
This is an important question to answer before we get our government, which has too much power over us all, more involved in health care than it already is.
There was a government health care program instituted some years ago. At first it was for catastrophic situations. It was called “A”. Later, it was expanded to offer a public single payer option. That was called “B”. Then came “C” and “D”. The whole program is called Medicare. How is it doing? I think is it a virtually bankrupt. So now we want to bring the government into all healthcare?

“Those that fight the public option are getting swayed by the big dollars getting spent by the immensely profitable health care industry.”
Um, not exactly. We fight the public (i.e., government-controlled) option because we know from first-hand experience how inefficient (and at times, draconian) the government can be. Can you name any service (outside of defense and intelligence) that federal and state governments can provide more efficiently and effectively than privately run entities? Education? Nope. Public transportation? No. U.S. Postal Service? Perennial money loser. We do not trust the government.

Hi Mcgreen,
Happy to hear your survived. Sounds like the health care you received was effective even if inefficient.
Only one question. If innocent little babies don’t have the right to survive the gestation process, why should you complain about a little paperwork and inconvenience in dealing with the current health care system?

I don’t think funds should be used for ‘elective’ abortions. If there is a clear medical rational, then perhaps so.

Where do you draw the line? Are you really going to force twelve year old victims of rape to risk their lives carrying to term?
Is your solution that they should throw themselves down a flight of stairs or drink lye or some of the other solutions desperate people have taken to terminate a pregnancy they can’t afford physically, emotionally or financially?
There were two girls arrested for setting fire to live kittens – you wouldn’t want abortions and further free or inexpensive birth control for should one of these individuals if they don’t want a child, and think long and hard those of you who also don’t think children of poverty deserve support due to their parent’s poor choices.
it’s so easy to sit back and say I only want my taxes spent on things I agree with – well I really don’t like how much money of our taxes goes to support health care industries. Why should they receive a 14% premium above and beyond what Medicare could have provided a service for?
People don’t realize their money is going to these providers who continue to complain they need to receive more dollars in order to ‘compete’ with Medicare. Horse manure.

The reason for so many abortions in this country is a lack of education. I’m not talking about sex education, but about moral education.
The truth is simply this: When you engage in an activity that results in the conception of another person, that person is imbued with the same rights that you have, i.e. life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and others. You as the parent have the responsibility to protect those rights, as well as providing nurture.
As Mark Twain once opined, No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while congress is in session. At no time was that more true than now.

I hope not. If so then abortion needs to be a state mandated issue, not a federal one. I need to move to a state where abortion does not happen legally so that my money will not facilitate evil.

Hi Jacksmith,
After we nationalize health care, who will develop the drugs and treatments the rest of the world relies on?
Did you know that Mexico is moving back towards fee for service after as the disaster of their public system becomes more apparent?
Ever been involved with Mexican health care other than that which caters to foreigners on a fee for service basis?
Be thankful you live in the USA, with or without health care insurance.

“After we nationalize health care, who will develop the drugs and treatments the rest of the world relies on?”
2 things.
1) What do insurance companies have to do with research and development?
2) Why are you under the impression that the only drugs and treatments developed happen here?

Can anyone explain to me why Clinton and most others who favor legal abortion say that they want it to be rare? Can anyone explain to me why most who favor legal abortion say it should be used only in the cases of incest, rape, and if the mother’s life is in danger? If these are the primary reasons why it is acceptable to have an abortion then why did our president defend the choice to have an abortion by saying that he did not want his young daughters to be punished with a baby if they made a mistake and got pregnant? Why does the most well known abortion provider go by the name of Planned Parenthood? Does that not indicate acceptance of using abortion as a primary means of birth control? Why should we as taxpayers, regardless of when we believe life begins, pay for birth control? Why are most abortion clinics in urban areas with high concentrations of minorities? Is it racist to fund minority focused organizations that provide abortions?

“Why should we as taxpayers, regardless of when we believe life begins, pay for birth control?”—————you’d rather pay to house unwanted children, provide healthcare for low income, unwed, teenage mothers? You’d prefer to pay for these kids born to a parent(s) who can’t afford them? And don’t even get me started on your assumption that white girls don’t get abortions…….

Healthcare should not be a ForProfit business.
I’d rather someone not making a profit stand between my doctor and I than an Insurance Company concerned more about their profits than my family’s health.

Taxpayer dollars for abortions? Condoms are cheaper. I’ll gladly pay for sterilizations though.

–Mexico? You seriously want to compare our country to Mexico?–
Why not? So much of Mexico is here. Si?

Why is Jake Tapper pictured still wearing a Wool Overcoat and Scarf in the middle of July? Is he afraid of getting sick and actuually having to use the Democrats poorly designed and extremely costly offering to Health care Insurance?

I pledge that if the healthcare bill includes funding for abortion, I will cease to pay any federal taxes. If this means I go to prison, so be it. But if I do, The president and all those people responsible for this inclusion will know about it.

Jake,
You bring up this item, the fired IG suing, Obama delaying release of the mid session Budget review on you blog, and yet you never cover them on TV. WHY?? You cover how many more people are going to the emergency rooms on TV because they don’t have insurance. How many of those are illegal aliens? Try giving ALL the facts instead of just Obama’s side.

“Sen. Judd Gregg, R-NH, an abortion opponent, said later that “no matter what your views are on abortion, you shouldn’t ask people to use their tax dollars if they think that abortion is taking a life — to use their tax dollars for those purpose — for that purpose’
Well – I don’t want my tax dollars used for multiple generations of welfare recipients. I don’t want my tax dollars used for services for illegal aliens, unless it is to ship them back to where they came from. I don’t want my tax dollars used for pet projects. I don’t want my tax dollars used for a lot of things, but Congress doesn’t care about that.

Why is it that people seem to think they are entitled to anything? Health care for everyone? Then everyone pay for it. Why should I have to pay many times over for other people to have health care and at the same time get lesser care myself? I have great health care right now, and my husband and I work hard for that privilage. I guess we are being punished for our success? Perhaps if frivolous law suits were banned then doctors wouldn’t be spending most of their salary on insurance and the costs could be lowered.
Also, to say abortions should be funded in order to avoid more welfare taxes is missing the point-there should be no welfare taxes in the first place. Churches and other not-for-profit organizations should be in charge ofcaring for the poor. If people need money they should be required to go to their neighbors and ask for it. I would gladly help out, but only if asked. This Robinhood thuggary is dishonest at best. At worst it is state sanctioned theft.

Jen K : “I have great health care right now, and my husband and I work hard for that privilage…”
Private insurance won’t cover everybody. Sometimes they reject people because they have preexisting conditions, or they terminate their coverage if a patient get a costly disease. That could even happen to you.

If it is such a good plan. the President, Senate and Congress should go under the health plan with all of America. I have had no health care sence March 2008. White male age 50. no work. And I don’t think will be good for my two children. The ones that will be paying for it.

“Sen. Judd Gregg, R-NH, an abortion opponent, said later that ‘no matter what your views are on abortion, you shouldn’t ask people to use their tax dollars if they think that abortion is taking a life — to use their tax dollars for those purpose — for that purpose…’”
But it’s OK to use my tax dollars to fund a trillion dollar “war of choice?” A bit hypocritical, doncha think?
“Tiahrt also mentioned Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as one whom might have been aborted in such a situation, depriving the world of his intellect.”
Snort!

Unwanted children that are allowed to be born often turn the parents life around and they realize how important life is and the horrible mistake they almost made….if anyone ever contemplates abortion know now, once you were in your moms womb and God has a plan for every person and unborn person right now!

What an unfortunate president we have.

mj – you want people to take care of themselves, but you don’t want them to do physical activity to make that happen – you can’t have it both ways.

In response to “abortion rights are necessary”…
While I do not support the use of taxpayer money to fund unnecessary abortions, I also do not support mandatory abortions or sterilizations of low income women.
Most people receiving assistance work at least part time. I once knew a family where the husband was a police officer and the wife worked as a secretary. Their income was still low enough that they qualified for WIC.
It is also possible to “look” healthy without actually being healthy.
It is also possible to get rather nice looking clothes and “fake” jewelry at thrift shops and Goodwill. Where do you think all the rich people dump their unwanted clothes so they can get a deduction on their taxes?
Teens shouldn’t get pregnant – but neither should they be treated like trash and forced to have an abortion. No matter how poor a US citizen or legal resident is, they have the same exact rights every other citizen or legal resident has. Those rights should not be taken away simply because they are poor.
You should keep in mind that it often can cost less for welfare to provide food and shelter assistance to teen moms than it does for them to pay for full-time child care so the teen can work a minimum wage job. Even better – state assistance for the teen and her mom usually means the baby can be cared for by grandma while the teen finishes her education. In the long run, having an education may mean the difference between this teen and her child living their entire lives in poverty – or being able to get a decent job and raising her child with little or no assistance.
My point is that while there are people who abuse the system, the vast majority do not. Assuming everyone who pulls out a food stamp card or cashes a welfare check is a worthless deadbeat is inaccurate at best – and horridly insulting at worst.

The attitude that “this will encourage single mothers… to get a free abortion” is demeaning to all women. This belief perpetuates the faulty assumption that single mothers living below the poverty line are “free-loaders”. That women are just crazy sex maniacs, turning tricks left and right because “they know” the tax dollars will pay for their abortions. No one loves abortion, don’t be stupid. No one tries to get pregnant just so they can get a free abortion. No one is clipping “free abortion” coupons in the Sunday paper. I am always surprised by married or childless women who can turn their backs on single mothers, claiming that it would never happen to them. Many married women with children would need public assistance if they got divorced. In this country, we must focus on the collective well being of society. In helping others you will in turn be helping yourself.
It is evolutionarily disadvantageous for people to focus solely on individual reproductive fitness; promoting social welfare within the group benefits all members of society. What is criminal about trying to raise a child?
Abortion is a right that every woman has in this country. We pay taxes for many services, some of which “you” may never use. You pay for children to get an education even if you don’t have children. You pay for the upkeep of public parks even if you never visit them. This is how society prospers. If a mother does not have the desire or financial means or WHATEVER reason she has for not wanting a child, she knows best. If tax dollars pay for women to have children, why not for abortions? And if you think abortion=murder, than try to justify paying taxes for the wars overseas.
Something to keep in mind:
A single person can work full time for $8.00 an hour and still barely break a salary of $16,000 a year (Seccombe, 2007, p.85). The poverty line for a family of four is around $20,000 a year. A mother working full time making minimum wage and trying to support 2 children is next to impossible. And the anecdotal evidence you spout off about girls with jewelry is not enough to change this truth. Public assistance is not only necessary, but should be embraced. Get over it. Go live in a remote mountain range somewhere if you cannot relate to other people.

“Welfare” is not the name of any program. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Medicare and Medicaid are likely what you are referring to and, like general health care, they need reform. No one is fully covered by these programs.

I do not want my tax dollars going toward the murder of the pre-born. Hyde’s legacy should continue.

It does not matter if a person goes to Macy’s or Salvation Army, if jewelry is purchased while on any sort of public assistance it is theft. I am not paying taxes to the poor for them to beautify themselves. Basic food, basic clothing, basic shelter, basic health care. That is ALL public assistance should cover if we are forced to have it at all. Cigarettes, jewelry or purfume, alcohol, junk food, electronics, cable, internet, cell phones, etc, are all privilages, not rights, and should not be purchased using our taxes. When we were kids, poor people did not drive SUVs and have cell phones-most made do and tightened their belts and tried to get off welfare as quickly as possible.
Personally I would support manditory implanted birth control for all women on any sort of public assistance. I would support it for men if it were available.
Women have the only say in whether they get pregnant (except rape, which accounts for a very small percentage of pregnancies) and what they do with the child. They have the most reliable birth control and the most choices, they have the only say in abortion, adoption and abandonment and have the most say in custody issues, especially single mothers. Thus simgle mothers are the ones who must bear the responsibility for their actions when it comes to having children on welfare. Legally the buck stops with women (a privilage women fought for), so responsibility also must rest there. If women don’t want to be blamed for this, then they should start granting equal rights to men. THAT will not happen. As men have known for centuries, with rights come responsibilities. Eventually we women will figure that out.

Why are you worried about taxing health care? It’s either a tax on your health or a tax on your ipod or iphone. People want government to pay for their health care coverage but they don’t want the debt to grow. My question is, how is that going to happen?
If it’s not the republicans blocking everything for nothing, the public demand for something that they don’t want to pay for.
Republicans think President Obama and some Democrats who care about try to rush health care bill through. I guess it’s been so what’s another 30 years. It’s a good topic for Congressional and Presidential campaigns. That’s what it’s all about. Something is better than the health care system we have.
I would rather have a public option, pay tax, and customized my plan that meets my family’s needs than paying for the plan that we don’t even use most of the services we pay for. We’re one of the families that believe in preventive care but we don’t have a choice now on what plan we want. Insurance companies offer either a basic or a comprehensive plans. The only differenc is the co-pay.

I think we all have to realize that employer-sponsored health insurance is going the way of the dodo. Bush started the ball rolling by pushing individual accounts and HSAs, and the corporations have run with it. Many companies are laying off employees, then hiring them back as “freelance,” minus benefits. Trying to get an individual health care policy is a nightmare; if you have any pre-existing condition, you’re either turned down or offered lousy coverage for beaucoup bucks. Plus, you’re forced to fill out a form listing ten years of medical history, so if some very expensive health problem happens to you, the insurance company can comb through your records with a fine-tooth, hoping to discover anything you omitted in your application so they can cancel your policy and not have to pay. I think everyone should be offered “group” insurance, employed or not, so that all are covered without having to state medical histories. The number of Americans that would sign up for the group insurance certainly would be enough to dilute risk and lower costs.

HYDE AMENDMENT
Elective abortions are not the responsibility of the tax payer! Actually no abortion is the responsibility of the tax payer.
Your mistake, Your responsibility.
This is getting beyond absurd!

No person should ever be forced to pay for an abortion. That goes against our constitutional rights. I believe that abortions are murder, which is a sin. For us to be forced to go against our religion is messed up, and totally unconstitutional.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
-Declaration of Independance-

NOOOIO! we should not have to pay FOR others ABORTIONS taking the life of a child is wrong and for us to sit here and know that were funding abortions! THAT MAKES ME SICK!!!