Rep. Bart Stupak and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius appeared on “Good Morning America” today to discuss abortion funding in the health care bill endorsed by President Obama. Stupak maintained that the bill provides for abortion coverage; Sebelius said it did not.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue shows that Sebelius is wrong:
On December 8, 2009, CNN reported that “The Senate on Tuesday rejected an amendment to tighten restrictions on federal funding for abortion in the sweeping health care bill it is debating.” It added that the amendment “mirrored language in the House bill that prevents any health plan receiving federal subsidies from offering coverage of abortion.”
On November 5, 2009, the New York Times quoted Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe who wrote a memorandum analyzing the House bill. He said that the House bill, “as it currently stands, does not authorize governmental funding of abortion.”
Now if the Senate rejected an amendment that “mirrored language in the House bill,” and the House bill “does not authorize governmental funding of abortion,” then it is obvious that Sebelius misled the nation. And I would add, willfully so.
