Health Care

Despite the intensity of recent debates over abortion coverage in health care legislation, relatively few Americans say they oppose the bills before Congress because of the issue.

Only three percent of Americans raised the issue of government-funded abortions as the main reason why they oppose the health proposals currently before Congress, according to a new Pew Research Center survey that allowed for open-ended responses. At the top of the list were complaints that the bills are too expensive/will increase deficit and taxes (27 percent) and allow too much government involvement in health care (27 percent).

Moreover, when respondents were given a list of five possible reasons why they oppose the health care bills, only eight percent picked “government money might pay for abortions” as the main reason. Most of the respondents expressed concern about big government (38 percent), high cost (27 percent), and the impact of reform on their own coverage (14 percent). more >>

Recent polls reveal that the majority of Americans oppose federal funding for health care plans that pay for abortions.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, released Wednesday, found that 61 percent of the public is against the use of federal money for abortions for women who can not afford the procedure. Also, 51 percent say women who get abortions should pay the full costs out of their own pocket, even if they have private health insurance and no federal funds are involved.

On Tuesday, a CBS News poll showed 56 percent of Americans think federal subsidies for health care plans should not be allowed to pay for abortions. more >>

Most Americans still support government funding for faith-based initiatives, according to a new report.

More than eight years after former President George W. Bush launched a program allowing churches and other religious organizations to receive federal funding to perform social services, 69 percent of Americans say they favor the initiative, the Pew Forum reported.

Only 25 percent oppose it. more >>

"The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty, and the American people, just now, are much in want of one. We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing." -Abraham Lincoln

House Democrats are celebrating a first-round victory in the battle to nationalize America's health care system-a victory claimed on behalf of every American's right to high-quality, affordable health care [cue patriotic music]. Opponents of the House bill are not without a victory of their own, however. Thanks to Bart Stupak, Joe Pitts, and 238 pro-life representatives from both sides of the aisle, the tradition of the Hyde Amendment has been upheld: federal funds will not be used to finance abortion as part of any government-managed health care plan-at least for now. Those seeking abortions will have to pay for the procedure without the unwitting aid of the American taxpayer.

The pro-abortion camp is incensed by the passage of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, denouncing the move as "an unprecedented overreach into women's basic rights and freedoms in this country." Aside from the irony of complaining about government overreach at the same time as they are stumping for a government takeover of America's health care system, the assertion that basic rights and freedoms are at stake unless tax monies are used to fund the killing of innocents again demonstrates the logical and moral incoherence of the pro-abortion position. This absurd position demonstrates that Lincoln's words are as true today as they were when he surmised that, though all Americans declare for liberty, we have yet to reach a consensus on what liberty actually is and to whom it applies. more >>

Celebration over the Stupak amendment in the House health care bill was cut short this week as pro-life supporters fear the language could be removed.

Abortion rights supporters, including House lawmakers, have threatened to pull their support from the health care bill if language such as the Stupak amendment remains in the final version.

The Stupak amendment, introduced by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), bars the use of federal funding for “any health plan [public or private] that includes coverage of abortion,” except in the cases of rape, incest or to save the woman’s life. more >>