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From the fact that people are very different it follows that, if we treat them equally, the result must be inequality in their actual position, and that the only way to place them in an equal position would be to treat them differently. Equality before the law and material equality are therefore not only different but are in conflict with each other; and we can achieve either one or the other, but not both at the same time

-- F.A. Hayak

Thursday, August 13, 2009

ObamaCare and Abortion - The Truth!

  1. Truth: These is no text in the ObamaCare proposal that "permits" abortion. The proposed bill is completely silent on abortion.
  2. Truth: The Hyde amendment, which is widely understood to prohibit federal funding of abortion, only prohibits funding of abortions through Medicaid.
  3. Truth: The Stupak-Pitts amendment is a proposal to disallow ObamaCare funds to subsidize abortion. Stupak-Pitts was defeated in committee 31 nay, 27 yea.
  4. Truth: The Capps amendment, passed by the Energy and Commerce Committee, will allow the secretary of HHS to provide abortion coverage through the "public plan" AND requires that people on taxpayer-subsidized insurance plans in the federal exchange to have access to a plan that covers elective abortions.
My Opinion:
 
When politicians such as House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) says, when asked about ObamaCare permitting abortion,
...to my knowledge there is nothing that specifies abortion to be allowed--as a matter of fact federal funds cannot be used to provide for abortion--under the Hyde Amendment[*] that's been in place for a very long time."
She is either ignorant of the controversy within the relevant house committees or simply disengenuous. As a matter of fact, I believe in the latter. Why? Because what she says is technically the truth. ObamaCare is silent on abortion funding. This is a line of argument that is deeply dishonest.
 
 
Posted by Michael Peterson at Thursday, August 13, 2009