March for Life

Secretary Sebelius Questioned about Abortion in the ACA and Planned Parenthood

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Secretary Sebelius Questioned about Abortion in the ACA and Planned Parenthood

From a friend on the Hill:

 

Pro-life Groups:

 

Yesterday Secretary Sebelius testified before the Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee. During this hearing she was questioned about abortion funding and transparency under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and funding for Planned Parenthood under the ACA.

 

Abortion Funding and Transparency Issues in the Affordable Care Act

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) departs from the longstanding Hyde amendment which prohibits funding for abortion or plans that include abortion.  The ACA bypasses the Hyde amendment and instead provides taxpayer subsidies to insurance plans that include abortion provided a separate abortion surcharge is billed. This accounting arrangement was proposed by then-Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) and was rejected as an accounting gimmick by pro-life leaders.  Proponents of the arrangement argued that there would be two separate payments, one for elective abortion and one for everything else.  However, as ACA exchanges have been implemented, it has become evident that at least some states are instructing exchange insurance companies that they do not have to charge a separate payment and that they don’t even have to itemize the abortion charge—meaning that a premium payer would have no idea they are paying the abortion surcharge. In addition, it has become evident that it is nearly impossible for exchange users to identify which plans include abortion and which do not when shopping for a plan online.  In October of last year, Secretary Sebelius promised Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) that she would provide a list of plans that include elective abortion. Then in December, she backtracked telling Rep. Shimkus that the information is available online. 

 

Yesterday, Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) again asked Sebelius about transparency on Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges.  Rep. Harris held up a stack of all of the exchange plans available on the Maryland exchange and explained that none of them indicate whether abortion is covered. The Secretary responded stating that the information should be available, but did not elaborate on any steps she is taking to ensure transparency. Then Rep. Harris also asked the Secretary about the so-called “separate payment” for elective abortion coverage. Again using Maryland as an example, Rep. Harris referred to a bulletin that the Maryland Insurance Commissioner has issued, stating, “issuers are not required to provide enrollees with separate invoices…nor to provide enrollees with itemization on a single invoice…” When Rep. Harris confronted the Secretary with this information, she indicated that she is not familiar the MD bulletin, but that the federal marketplace will follow the law (implying she is not responsible for the MD exchange).  Upon further questioning she agreed to take a look at the issue with her staff.

 

Planned Parenthood Funding in the Affordable Care Act

Recent articles have indicated that Planned Parenthood is rolling out a campaign to enroll people in the ACA plans.  The New York Times has even called Planned Parenthood “one of the most aggressive groups” going door-to-door to enroll individuals in ACA plans, and reports indicate that Planned Parenthood affiliates received at least $655,000 in “Navigator” funds to help with enrollment efforts.  Based on this information, Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL) asked Secretary Sebelius whether the most recent enrollment campaign has received federal funds and asked the Secretary provide a list of grants and contracts awarded to Planned Parenthood using ACA funds.  You can see their exchange here.

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Planned Parenthood says of the 4 million people registered for Obamacare they registered 27 million of them

Be in the pro-life movement for a while and you understand that those at the top of the pro-abortion movement tend to not really think truth or civility is relevant to debate.  Recent examples include abortion-giant Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards claiming that life begins at birth when in fact scientists of all stripes agree that life actually begins at conception (i.e. fertilization.)  Or as Princeton Professor Robbie George puts it:

 

“That is, in human reproduction, when sperm joins ovum, these two individual cells cease to be, and their union generates a new and distinct organism. This organism is a whole, though in the beginning developmentally immature, member of the human species. Readers need not take our word for this: They can consult any of the standard human-embryology texts, such as Moore and Persaud’s The Developing Human, Larsen’s Human Embryology, Carlson’s Human Embryology & Developmental Biology, and O’Rahilly and Mueller’s Human Embryology & Teratology.”

 

Not to be outdone the head of the pro-abortion group NARAL claimed that those who fight for the cause of defending life are “un-American” (perhaps she was inspired by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s tirade that “pro-life” New Yorkers “have no place in the state of New York.”)

 

One reason those on the pro-abortion side say such things is because no one in the general media usually calls them on it.  Overwhelmingly fact checkers at major news outlets are too busy checking up on Republican and conservative statements to focus on what their comrades in liberal thought are saying.  I have little doubt that will also be true for the newest whopper from Planned Parenthood’s Ms. Richards. 

At a political event in the state of Montana the abortion-industry president stated that Planned Parenthood is responsible for signing up 27 million women for Obamacare.   That is quite a remarkable number considering that the Obama Administration is saying that only 4 million people have signed up for health insurance under the law.

 

While you wouldn’t expect someone as busy as Ms. Richards to get all her facts straight, a miscalculation of 23 million people is usually reserved for government bean counters.  Does make one wonder that if that number is so off what about the $540.6 million in taxpayer funding that Planned Parenthood gets?  Should taxpayers be subsidizing an abortion giant (Planned Parenthood reported $58.2 million in excess revenue, and more than $1.3 billion in net assets.) that plays quick and loose with numbers?

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When it comes to President Obama’s 2015 budget and life, it shows where his priorities remain

“Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.” – Vice President Joe Biden

The good news in President Obama’s budget is that Title X funds (p. 434) that generally give money to entities like Planned Parenthood, have gone down from $297,400,000 to $286,479,000. (That is still higher than the figure in 2007 -$283,146,000.)  Also, it appears that $5,000,000 is set aside for true abstinence education (p. 490) while almost six times that amount is reserved for “comprehensive” abstinence education that does everything from encouraging young kids to shower together to helping fund online “How to BDSM” videos for teens.

The bad news is that the Obamacare slush funds make it impossible to fathom where some of the money will be going.  In one instance the budget gives “ approximately $14.6 billion over 10 years to implement innovative policies to train new health care providers and ensure that the future health care workforce is prepared to deliver high-quality and efficient health care services. And, to encourage and enhance training of primary care practitioners, and other physicians in high-need specialties.”

While this provision is probably to counter the rapid loss of doctors the country is facing over Obamacare regulations, I cannot remember if protections to ensure that money doesn’t go to training of future abortionists were including during the legislative fight against Obamacare back in 2009 and 2010.  Regardless, considering this Administration’s flagrant and willful ignorance of the law, there is little guarantee.

The $350 million slush fund known as “Community Services Block Grants” still exists as well, to be distributed at the whim of the Secretary.

Lastly President Obama’s budget “includes $10 million for an HHS initiative to prevent and address domestic human trafficking in addition to anti-trafficking efforts by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security. This initiative will provide direct services to domestic victims of trafficking, train service providers, and invest in data collection, research, and evaluation.”

Traditionally, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security are very territorial over anti-trafficking funds; however, HHS for years has given grants to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which is one of the largest anti-trafficking relief organizations in the world. A few years ago, the Obama Administration cut off funding for the USCCB because of the Catholic Church’s pro-life views.  Friends within the program at HHS confirmed that the outside relief organizations who took over the grants from HHS have done a horrible job in keeping up with the demand of those suffering from trafficking.  It is unknown if HHS is now deciding to do some of it in house, which doesn’t bode well for those victims.

Ending as we began, with good news, the President’s budget, while highlighting his pro-abortion priorities, usually is dead on arrival when it reaches Capitol Hill.  In the last few years it has been introduced in the Senate, NO ONE, including Democrats from his own party, voted for his budget.  In fact Senate Democrats just last week decided they won’t even bother working on a budget this year, despite it being required by law for them to do so.

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Marching On: 40 Days for Life

Even though it doesn’t seem like it for much of the United States, spring IS just around the corner.  The Lent season is upon us as well, beginning tomorrow as Christians prepare for the celebration of Easter on April 20.  The first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday, also marks the beginning of the spring campaign of 40 Days for Life: March 5 – April 13.  If you’re looking for a way to “march on” after your experience at the March for Life, or a regional March for Life event, we encourage you to participate in this powerful movement.

If you’re not familiar with it, 40 Days for Life is a community-based campaign that draws attention to the evil of abortion through the use of a three-point program of prayer and fasting, peaceful vigils, and community outreach.  You can learn more and find a local campaign HERE.  

The 40 Days for Life movement is having a powerful impact around the country, because of faithful people who care deeply for the sanctity of life and desire to see an end to abortion in America – and around the world.  The fall campaign saw at least 476 babies saved from abortion!

As the March for Life President, Jeanne Monahan, so eloquently encouraged us at the March for Life rally, “No sacrifice is too great for this cause.”  If you are a praying person, take a leap of faith and sign up for a local 40 Days for Life campaign.  However, if it’s not the right fit for you, there are so many other ways you can continue to “march on” for life – check out these great suggestions, and let us know how it goes! We all have different gifts and talents, but we’re all united by one passion – ending abortion, saving lives, and building a culture of life!