Bill would apply Hyde Amendment principles to Obama Health Care Law
WASHINGTON – The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of right-to-life groups across the country, today sent a letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives urging them to vote for the Protect Life Act (H.R. 358), sponsored by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.), when it comes to the floor for a vote next week. National Right to Life intends to include the vote in its scorecard of key pro-life roll calls of the 112th Congress.
As the letter notes, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, Public Law 111-148) "…contained multiple provisions that provide authorizations for subsidies for abortion, both implicit and explicit, and also multiple provisions that opened doors to abortion-expanding administrative actions." National Right to Life's letter observes that the Protect Life Act "…would apply the pro-life principles of the Hyde Amendment to every component of the PPACA, and contains important conscience protections for pro-life health care providers as well."
Public opinion polling conducted during the congressional debate over the bill generally found Americans opposed to the use of federal funds to pay for or subsidize abortion coverage. A post-election poll conducted by The Polling Company in November 2010 found 58% were opposed to "using taxpayer dollars to pay for abortion at any time and for any reason."
"The Protect Life Act is similar to the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which passed the House in 2009, but was not included in the final law because of opposition by pro-abortion Senate Democrats and President Obama," said National Right to Life Legislative Director Douglas Johnson. "The Administration's 2010 pretense that ObamaCare did not expand abortion grows more tattered with each passing month. While running for mayor of Chicago, former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel boasted of his role in devising a strategy for 'the Stupak Amendment not to exist by law.' Only yesterday, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius gave a call-to-arms speech at a NARAL Pro-Choice America fundraiser in Chicago, in which she said 'we are in a war' with critics of the law."
A full analysis of the need for the Protect Life Act can be found in testimony by Mr. Johnson before the Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Energy and Commerce on February 9, 2011:
http://www.nrlc.org/AHC/ProtectLifeActDouglasJohnsonTestimony.pdf.
