WSJ: Health-Care Overhaul: Abortion, Public Option & Young Adults

Here are a few of the stories on the health-care overhaul that caught our eye this morning:

Abortion continues to play a role in the health care debate, the New York Times reports. The issue is dividing Dems, the article says. Some argue that the current health-care bills already prohibit using federal funds to pay for abortions, while others say more explicit prohibitions are needed for those who would receive government subsidies to purchase health insurance. For more on the subject, see this WSJ story from last month, and this WSJ.com column from Steven Waldman on how to keep the health-care overhaul neutral on abortion.

Read the entire story here.

Obamacare Hits New Lows

Only 41% of Voters Support Obama Socialist Health Care, while Only 16 Percent of Seniors Want Obama's Socialist Health Care.

Obama's Socialist Health Care Creates 8 NEW TAXES!

TAKE ACTION TODAY: STOP OBAMACARE

1) Contact the Senate Finance Committee Members via phone/fax/email. Tell them NO Government-run healthcare! Exert extra pressure on Republican members (especially Senator Snowe) and remind them NO compromise… NO healthcare negotiations… absolutely NO form of government health care!

DEMOCRAT SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

- Max Baucus (MT-D) http://baucus.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
- Jay Rockefeller (VA-D) http://rockefeller.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
- Kent Conrad (ND-D) http://conrad.senate.gov/contact/
- Jeff Bingaman (NM-D) http://bingaman.senate.gov/contact/
- John F. Kerry (MA-D) http://kerry.senate.gov/contact/office.cfm
- Blanche Lincoln (AR-D) http://lincoln.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
- Ron Wyden (OR-D) http://wyden.senate.gov/contact/
- Charles E. Schumer (NY-D) http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/contact.cfm
- Debbie Stabenow (MI-D) http://stabenow.senate.gov/contact.htm
- Maria Cantwell (WA-D) http://cantwell.senate.gov/contact/
- Bill Nelson (FL-D) http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
- Robert Menendez (NJ-D) http://menendez.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm
- Tom Carper (DE-D) http://carper.senate.gov/

REPUBLICAN SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS

- Chuck Grassley (IA-R) http://grassley.senate.gov/contact.cfm
- Orrin G. Hatch (UT-R) http://hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Offices.Home
- Olympia Snowe (ME-R) http://snowe.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactSenatorSnowe.DistrictOffices
- Jon Kyl (AZ-R) http://kyl.senate.gov/
- Jim Bunning (KY-R) http://bunning.senate.gov/public/
- Mike Crapo (ID-R) http://crapo.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm
- Pat Roberts (KS-R) http://roberts.senate.gov/public/
- John Ensign (NV-R) http://ensign.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm
- Mike Enzi (WY-R) http://enzi.senate.gov/public/
- John Cornyn (TX-R) http://cornyn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home

2) Next, contact your 2 US Senators with same message. Every Senator needs to hear from America now! Use this website for quick contact information: http://www.congressmerge.com/onlinedb/index.htm

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ARE YOU USING TWITTER?

Go to Operation Senate Overload on Healthcare and tweet your message to Senators today: http://tinypaste.com/657ac

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EXACTLY WHY DO I NEED TO CONTACT SENATORS TODAY? READ ON...

- Senate’s 4-Step plan to ram government health care into our lives "Passing a Shell of A Bill:" http://blog.heritage.org/2009/09/22/passing-a-shell-of-a-bill-how-congress-plans-to-ram-through-health-care-reform/

- Senate Finance Committee Democrats vote against health care legislation transparency: "Read the Bill! What Bill?" http://blog.heritage.org/2009/09/23/read-the-bill-what-bill/

- One year in jail if you fail to meet health care Individual Mandate: "Ensign receives handwritten confirmation" http://www.politico.com/livepulse/0909/Ensign_receives_handwritten_confirmation_.html?showall

- Transparency shenanigans are going on in the House of Representatives as well: "Dem Leadership Tries to Crush Petition on Allowing Americans to Read Bills Before Vote" http://republicanleader.house.gov/blog/?p=628

- Need clarification of health care terms? Read this: "Obamacare Translator Glossary" http://www.freedomworks.org/publications/freedomnotes-obamacare-translator
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AND PRAY... 

Prayer for our Nation’s Health Care Reform

Lord Jesus, you are the Divine Physician,
And the source of all life and health.

Guide our nation at this critical moment,
As our government seeks health care reforms.

Give our elected officials the humility to know
That they are servants, not masters.
Give them the wisdom to realize
That every life has equal value.
Give them the strength to resist the idea
That some lives can be sacrificed to save others
Or that killing the unborn is a part of health care.

Give your people the courage to speak up
And to hold public officials accountable for their actions.

Save us, Lord Jesus, from a culture of death,
And let every reform in our public policy
Be based on the reform of our hearts and minds
In the light of your Gospel,
For you are Lord forever and ever. Amen.


~ Via Fr. Frank Pavone at Priests for Life.

The president’s health reform and the life issues

The debate over the future of health care reform in the United States has often focused on two issues surrounding life; the beginning and the end. Both issues, abortion and euthanasia, have implications for religious based hospitals, particularly Catholic ones, and therefore the entire future of health care in the United States. Read the rest here

Letter to the Editor - Waiting to see the Senate health bill

...On June 22, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Democrats defeated a Republican amendment to the health care bill that would have prevented the use of “comparative effectiveness” research methodologies in the denial of benefits to patients, against their will, based on their age, expected length of life, or of the patient’s present or predicted disability or quality of life.

Democrats claimed the amendment was unneeded. The existing language says that comparative effectiveness research “shall not be construed as mandates for payment, coverage, or treatment.” However, nothing in the current bill prevents it being used to deny treatment.


“Comparative effectiveness” refers to the practice of limiting choices in medicines or procedures to a few that government bureaucrats decide are cost-effective. This is the norm in Britain and Canada. Canada sends people to the United States for certain cancer treatments but decides which hospital, often to the detriment of the patient. If you are over 60 in Britain, your health care is limited.

Such rationing discriminates against people with disabilities, older people, and anyone considered having a poor ‘quality of life.’

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If our President had read H.R. 3200, he would never have told us that if we like our health insurance, we can keep it.

On page 16, Section 102(a)(1) “Limitation on New Enrollment” forbids new enrollment in private plans. In other words, if you lose your job, change your job, graduate from school and look for a job, you must go into the government plan. If the government insurance is so wonderful, it would not be necessary force people onto it.

On pg. 167, Title IV, Subtitle A, Part 1, any individual “without acceptable health care coverage, defined in subsection d (pg. 171-173) will have to pay a special tax. Pg. 194, Subtitle C allows the “Health Choices Commissioner” to get anyone’s tax returns in order to figure the tax.

The House and Senate bills are full of such mandates that make the word “choice” an empty one unless we are talking about abortion. Oh, yes, the government can define health care services to include abortion. It is revealing that amendments to exclude abortion in these bills have been beaten back by Democrats.

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If you would like to check the accuracy of my facts, I have the pdf version of HR 3200 that I can send you. (Note: Click here for pdf version of the entire bill.)

I also have facts that refute the contention that no federal funds will be used for abortions and that no illegal aliens will be eligible for the programs. (Illegals get health care now via hospital emergency rooms or by paying up front.). I've given up writing letters to the editor. It takes a lot of time to condense the facts to 170-200 words and they don't print them anyway. What the papers do like to print are name-calling letters. Anything giving "chapter-and-verse" facts are unwelcome as they go against their editorial stands.

An interesting question is what Canadians will do for their health care beyond the basics? Right now, the Canadian govt. sends cancer patients needing chemotherapy to either Buffalo or, I believe, Cleveland. They assign patients to one or the other, regardless of which regimen works better for that type of cancer. Detroit is the center for heart surgery of Canadian patients.

Where do I get these facts? Over 35 years as a reference librarian with a paralegal degree helps finding out these things...

- Carol White of Hawaii Right to Life and used with permission.

Action Alert: Senate Abortion Vote Tuesday - Call Key Senators

Members of the U.S. Senate Financial Services Committee will be voting NEXT TUESDAY on amendments to keep abortion coverage out of Sen. Max Baucus's (D-Mont.) health care bill. Sen. Baucus's health care bill explicitly includes abortion and would subsidize health plans that cover all elective abortions. Such subsidies for abortion goes well beyond the status quo of preventing federal funds either from paying for abortion or subsidizing plans that covers abortion as is prevented under current laws governing Medicaid, the Federal Employee Health Benefits Plan, and the State Children's Health Insurance Plan.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has introduced several amendments that would prevent government funding for abortion and would protect current conscience laws for health workers. Please call these key Senators today and urge them to support Sen. Hatch's amendments to keep government funded abortions out of the Baucus bill:

• Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.): 202-224-5521
• Sen. Thomas Carper (D-Del.): 202-224-2441
• Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.): 202-224-2043
• Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.): 202-224-4843
• Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.): 202-224-5274
• Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine): 202-224-5344