Abortion Rights Fight Plagues Both Parties

Stupak Amendment Divides Democratic Party; RNC Scrambles to Axe Coverage in its Own Plan

(CBS)  Senate Democrats are expected to bring their long-awaited health care reform bill to the floor next week. And just as in the House, which passed its bill last week, senators are divided over the issue of abortion, reports CBS News Correspondent Nancy Cordes.

The fight over abortion rights has become a thorn in the side of both parties now. It all started when anti-abortion Democrats, led by Michigan's Bart Stupak, began demanding that health care reform include strict new language banning abortion coverage.

"What I'm saying and a number of my Democratic colleagues are saying is no public funding for abortion, period," Stupak said.

Government rules have prohibited abortion coverage in federally funded plans since 1976. Federal workers, Medicaid recipients and women in the military do not have abortion coverage except in extreme cases like rape.

But the health care reform bill creates an unprecedented scenario. Millions of low-income Americans get some federal assistance to help them buy insurance. Stupak's amendment bars any woman who gets even a dollar of federal funding from buying a plan that contains abortion coverage.

"I remember the days of back alley abortions and this amendment takes us one step back to those days," said Rep. Barbara Lee of California.

The amendment passed with the support of 64 Democrats and all but one Republican.

Now the traditionally pro-abortion rights Democratic Party is at a crossroads.

"This is an internal fight, a civil war within the Democratic Party," said Stu Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Political Report.

That internal fight spilled over into the GOP on Thursday, when Politico revealed that even the Republican National Committee provides coverage for elective abortions in its health care plan.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele swiftly axed the policy, saying, "money from our loyal donors should not be used for this purpose."

Now a group of female senators is scrambling to find a compromise on abortion funding. But even if they succeed, there are a number of other major issues, like the public option, and how to finance reform, that have Democrats at odds as well.

[jollypants]

Of course the liberals want to abortion funding in the Obama Socialize Health Care Bill, because they stand to make billions in profits. You didn't really think this takeover of the health care system was about saving money, did you?

[scientifictruth]

The reason abortion is such a controversial issue is because it is murder of anothe human being. No matter what what you say we know the truth. It is a living, growing human being. It doesn't matter whether you believe in God or even religion. In a civil society we have traffic lights to keep order so that the streets and roads are not chaos. We have laws to protect and provide for a safe and peaceful nation. Without laws there is complete chaos. That's why it is against the law to commit murder and that crime is punishable by law and sometimes the death penalty. We who fight against abortion know that it is wrong just as any other murder is wrong. You think that because you cover them up with a womb and pretend there isn't a human there that it is any less of a murder? Killing a woman's baby isn't caring about her, it's demeaning, devaluing, cold, heartless premeditated murder.

[Dystopia_Enemy]

Bart Stupak has not turned in his Michigan badge et al as a state cop. He uses the "broken record technique" on those with whom he disagrees over what he regards as moral issues. In his mind there is nothing to debate. The law is the law. "Put your hands on the roof of the car and spread those feet wide even if this causes discomfort to your pregnant body." So, Bart is not going to like the following - from someone on the lower MI peninsula.

It is possible to regard the refusal of elected officials to enable public funding of abortion as "establishment of religion". If attitudes about abortion funding are equally distributed among U.S. Believers and Non-believers then it should be simple to show that case by drawing large, random samples from each group and using 2 by 2 Chi Square on the results. But does anybody really think that such research into American attitude distribution would demonstrate "no difference"? Au contraire.

So, what would happen if exemption to Stupak's Law could be claimed by an an economically challenged, pregnant woman who signs the declaration: "THERE IS NO GOD"? Should she be denied financial support for an abortion? Through her taxes she contributes to the public fund from which Stupak is determined to deny her resources.

Excuse me? What this matter does is turn an economical Means Test into an obligatory Morality Test of a pregnant woman who has been "lighted up" in a patriotic hail of red, blue, and white bulbs.

And that's the way it is, to coin a phrase.

[murphjos]

Link to text of the amendment:

http://www.rules.house.gov/111/SpecialRules/hr3962/111_part3_hr3962.pdf

It even has a provision to allow abortions to be cover to save a womans life. gramto8 is either illiterate, a liar, or a lemming who just repeats the lies he/she hears.

[gramto8]

If they follow through with this idiocy and keep the Stupid Stupak amendment intact, women's rights have gone back to the 18th century. A miscarriage is actually a spontaneous abortion. This amendment will prevent a woman from getting help if she has had a miscarriage, or if her fetus has died and she needs a D&C to rid her body of the dead fetal matter, without regard to what part of the pregnancy is involved. This was written in such a way that it will not cover ANY woman in any way for ANY procedure that removes any fetal matter from her uterus, NO MATTER WHAT THE CAUSE!!

[murphjos]

Lie! Treating a woman after a miscariage or removing a dead fetus has NOTHING to do with covering abortion and is not precluded by the Stupak amendment.

[velma179]

gramto8.. you may have heard some erroneous information. Lack of facts isn't JUST a far-right wing problem, I have seen some of the same hyperbolic misinformation coming from the far-left as well.

I know you are not remotely illiterate, nor a liar or lemming -- I just think you are responding to information that is not completely factual.

The Stupak amendment -- as written in just passed, the House bill -- only covers the funding of "elective" abortions. It does allow for the procedure to be covered in cases of rape, incest or threat to the mother's life.