Breaking News Archive 2009

Beware of Compromise

With all the rumors about reaching a compromise on healthcare reform, let me say this. Don’t believe it! Recent developments provide absolutely no protection for unborn babies and their mothers from abortion, or our vulnerable citizens from rationing.

Life Issues Institute doesn’t oppose healthcare reform. But we firmly reject, and so should you, any plan that will facilitate and fund abortion-on-demand, or accommodate rationing healthcare services to our elderly, chronically ill or disabled.

The recent so-called compromises that have been discussed would still open the floodgates of funding and facilitating abortion-on-demand.

If someone says, “Abortion isn’t mentioned in these healthcare reform proposals, so there’s no abortion threat.” Here’s what you need to say. “Medicaid (designed to provide healthcare services to the poor) didn’t mention abortion either, but we were paying for more than 300,000 abortions a year until the Hyde Amendment excluded most abortion coverage.”

The same thing will happen to healthcare reform if abortion isn’t specifically excluded, but the death toll will increase dramatically. The only way to protect innocent human life is to specifically exclude abortion and rationing from any healthcare reform bill.

But Congress has repeatedly refused to exclude mandated abortion:

On July 17, 2009 the Ways and Means Committee voted down Congressman Sam Johnson’s amendment to prevent an abortion mandate by a vote of 18-23. And an amendment by Congressman Eric Cantor to prohibit taxpayer funding for abortion lost 19-22.

The Education and Labor committee defeated the same amendments by Congressman Mark Souder by a vote of 19-29.

We must stay vigilant in our efforts to make sure abortion and rationing are not part of any healthcare reform. Right now there’s nothing more urgent than stopping mandated abortion in healthcare. Congressman Chris Smith, one of our leading pro-life members of the House, said, “This is the big one. Not since Roe v. Wade have our children and their moms been more at risk.”

The pro-life movement—made up of liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans—are united in an effort to keep abortion and rationing out of any healthcare reform. We’ve formed a group called Stop the Abortion Mandate and I’m a participating member. A brief 2-minute video has been produced to alert millions of Americans about the urgent danger to our nation’s unborn babies and vulnerable citizens. Please take a moment to watch it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RD7hJhwy5g Then share this email with others.

I’ll keep you posted,
Bradley Mattes
Executive Director
Life Issues Institute

08/19/09

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