As Congress and the president consider health care legislation, we've explained how single-payer or government-run systems lead to the rationing of care, which in turn (given a prevailing "quality of life" ethic) leads to the euthanasia of elderly and disabled patients.
A second potential danger of the impending health care reform is that it may be used to fund abortions. The following is from NRLC.
Democratic congressional leaders, who are currently in control of both houses of Congress, are working with the Obama White House behind closed doors to craft "health care reform" bills -- legislation that Barack Obama has already pledged will incorporate expansive pro-abortion provisions.
The House and Senate are expected to vote on this "health care reform" legislation as early as July -- within weeks after it is formally unveiled.
NRLC and other pro-life analysts believe that the impending legislation will contain provisions that will amount to a federal mandate for insurance coverage of abortion on demand -- funded by government-mandated premiums. The plan is also likely to open the door to tax-funded abortion on demand for low-income citizens.
On July 17, 2007, during Barack Obama’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, he appeared before the annual conference of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Speaking of his plans for "health care reform," Obama said, "In my mind, reproductive care is essential care, basic care, so it is at the center, the heart of the plan that I propose." Under his plan, Obama explained, people could choose to keep their existing private health care plans, but "insurers are going to have to abide by the same rules in terms of providing comprehensive care, including reproductive care ... that’s going to be absolutely vital."
Regarding Obama’s statements, the Chicago Tribune reported: "Asked about his proposal for expanded access to health insurance, Obama said it would cover 'reproductive-health services.' Contacted afterward, an Obama spokesman said that included abortions." ("Democrats Pledge Support for Wide Access to Abortion," by Mike Dorning, Chicago Tribune, July 18, 2007.) The Obama campaign elaborated on this commitment to mandate abortion coverage on other occasions.
"The pro-abortion movement sees federal 'health care reform' legislation as a golden opportunity to force-feed abortion into every nook and cranny of the health-care delivery system," explained NRLC Federal Legislative Director Douglas Johnson. "Their goal, as they sometimes put it, is to ‘mainstream’ abortion."
If Obama and his allies succeed, "the result will be a very large increase in the number of abortions performed in America," Johnson said.
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