Pro-life leaders are reacting to news that President Obama has failed to live up to his promise that no federal funds will be used to pay for abortions in the healthcare bill. In his plan released today, Obama wants Americans to pay for abortion on demand through healthcare and nixes the Stupak Amendment, which would have barred the government from funding abortions.
Here’s what pro-life leaders are saying:
Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America
“Obama’s plan is a re-hash of the Senate and House bills with a higher price tag – and will force Americans to pay for abortions. It would put the U.S. government in the abortion business, reduce health care for patients, raise costs, and create more bloated agencies. It puts each American’s health under the control of a federal commission that will decide what care we can receive. Americans choose something other than a government-approved plan will be forced to pay a fine.
“Obama’s plan pays off his friends with sweetheart deals, like $11 billion for “Community Health Centers” that may be run by abortion provider Planned Parenthood. Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood’s president, visited Obama’s White House numerous times in the past year – starting on the day he was inaugurated – as the administration was crafting its health care plan.
“Americans do not want to pay for someone else’s abortion, and we don’t want abortionists getting rich off our tax dollars.”
Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the Susan B. Anthony List:
“In a last gasp to save his top domestic priority, President Obama is taking a new approach to health care: ‘bipartisanship.’ Yet his proposal released today missed the mark on the most significant area of bipartisan agreement: limiting public funds for abortion.
“Over seventy percent of Americans oppose funding abortion through health care reform legislation. And last fall, one quarter of the President’s own party joined Republicans to support the consensus Stupak-Pitts Amendment to exclude abortion coverage in the House.
“In the face of obvious bipartisan consensus against abortion funding, the President remains deaf to the voices of American taxpayers. President Obama’s most precious domestic priority is on life support, but he still refuses to jettison abortion coverage. It appears that abortion ideology is more precious to this president than his top domestic priority.
“On behalf of the majority of Americans who opposed funding abortion with our tax dollars, I urge participants at Thursday’s health care summit – GOP members especially – to defend the American conscience. National consensus will only be reflected in clear language to ensure taxpayer dollars will not fund abortion or any health care plans that cover abortion. This is the federal status-quo, and it’s what an increasingly pro-life America demands.”
Bradley Mattes, Executive Director of Life Issues Institute
“It’s like putting lipstick on a feminist and claiming to be new and improved. In reality, it’s the same tired old, worn-out government-controlled program that’s loaded to the gills with abortion-on-demand. The people of America have already spoken. It’s tragic the President isn’t listening.”
Steven Ertelt, Editor and CEO of LifeNews.com
“Not only does Obama ignore numerous polls showing strong bipartisan majorities don’t want abortion funding in a health care bill, but his proposal would expand abortion funding beyond what the Senate bill already allows. Knowing this, and knowing Obama and his allies plan to railroad the pro-abortion health care bill through Congress via reconciliation, pro-life Americans are prepared to hold them accountable this November. Obama and pro-abortion Democrats will pay for funding abortions at the polls.”
Mike Gonidakis, Executive Director of Ohio Right to Life
“President Obama’s new healthcare plan would change years of federal policy on abortion by subsidizing the purchase of insurance plans that cover elective abortions. Poll after poll shows that the American people don’t want the federal government to promote abortions. The President is arrogantly ignoring the clear will of the people.”
Dorinda C. Bordlee, senior counsel of Bioethics Defense Fund, www.BDFund.org
“The President’s proposal to to revive and ‘build off of’ the 2,000-plus page Senate bill should be dubbed ‘Hydra Healthcare’ because every time one of the many heads of this pro-abortion mega-bill gets lopped off, two more seem to grow back. The President’s decision not to include the Stupak amendment in his proposal means that the current abortion-funding scheme remains in the Senate bill.”
Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC)
“Any member of Congress who votes for the final legislation proposed by President Obama will be voting for direct federal funding of elective abortion through Community Health Centers, and also an array of other pro-abortion federal subsidies and mandates.
“The health bill passed by the Senate in December (H.R. 3590) had become, by the conclusion of the Senate amendment process, the most expansively pro-abortion bill ever brought to the floor of either house of Congress since Roe v. Wade. The Senate bill, as passed, contained seven distinct problems pertaining to abortion policies. (The bill passed earlier by the House, H.R. 3962, contained none of these pro-abortion components, thanks to adoption of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment on the House floor on November 7, 2009, by a vote of 240-194.) President Obama today proposed “a targeted set of changes to” the Senate-passed bill. None of President Obama’s proposed changes diminish any of the sweeping pro-abortion problems in the Senate bill, and he actually proposes to increase the funds that would be available to directly subsidize abortion procedures (through Community Health Centers) and to subsidize private health insurance that covers abortion (through the premium-subsidy tax credits program).
“If all of the President’s changes were made, the resulting legislation would allow direct federal funding of abortion on demand through Community Health Centers, would institute federal subsidies for private health plans that cover abortion on demand (including some federally administered plans), and would authorize federal mandates that would require even non-subsidized private plans to cover elective abortion.”
Eric Scheidler, Executive Director of the Pro-Life Action League
“President Obama’s eleventh-hour effort to revive the moribund health care plan with its massive abortion expansion intact shows that he cares more about helping his friends in the abortion lobby than addressing the real health-care needs of the American people. But the American people don’t want their tax dollars paying for abortion, and they’re not going to stand for it in this or any other health care bill.”
Back in November we alerted you to the fact that the DC City council was considering a new law that would require those who partner with the district in areas of social service (including the Church) to provide employee benefits to same-sex couples. At the time, Catholic Charities of DC expressed fear that they would have to close their doors if such a law was passed. However, in a bold move to keep its doors open to the poor and needy, the DC branch of Catholic Charities has adopted changes to its existing exployee health insurance coverage to avoid having to provide benefits to same-sex couples as is required by a new law.
Today, RedState has an 
years (her) faith took a back seat until it all came to a soulful boiling point during a high power photo shoot, where (she) turned back to God.”
Two year’s ago, the Pastor at our Church made copies available of a Catholic magazine called 
