Page 110 of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, authorizes a new government health insurance program to pay for all elective abortions. Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee, explains.
"This is a federal agency, a federal program, [and] of course it's going to spend federal funds -- that's the only kind of funds it's got," he notes. "So all of these assurances that some prominent Democrats, including President Obama, have given that there won't be federal funding for abortions, that's not what's in the bill."
Johnson warns that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) wants to ram the bill through without representatives having a chance to vote on a single amendment. However, in order to use that "closed rule" procedure, a majority of House members have to agree to the move. The pro-life spokesman is urging members to vote "no" on a closed rule.
"We want to vote on an amendment that would take abortion out of this bill, which is the [Bart] Stupak amendment," Johnson clarifies, referring to the Michigan Democrat. "We believe if we could get a vote in the full House on that amendment, it would pass."
Congressman Stupak has vowed that if he does not get a vote on his amendment barring federal funding of abortion, he and 40 pro-life Democrats will block a full House vote on the healthcare bill.
Why do Democratic leaders continue to insist abortion funding
isn't in their healthcare reform bills?