Pro Life thoughts in a pro choice world through the eyes of a convert.
I took early retirement after working in the social work and Human Resources fields but remain active by being involved in pro life education, lobbying and speaking .
Here we go.....NC will force college students who do not have private health insurance to purchase insurance that covers elective abortions.
A new rule established by the Board of Governors requires every student attending its state-run universities and colleges to carry health insurance; if a student doesn’t have insurance, they will have to purchase it through the school. That plan funds abortions, which puts every uninsured student in the position of paying for them out of his or her own pocket:
This mandated policycovers up to $500 toward elective abortions and has 80% PPO coverage for elective abortions.
Abortion will not be covered in Obamacare. Ya, tell me another one.
Bredesen Leaves Anti-Abortion Bill Unsigned, Urges Revision
(Updates earlier post)
From Humphrey on the Hill...
This post states the Gov. Bredeson (no friend to the pro life people of TN ) had more in mind than just being neutral. Per this post, he points out that this bill does not go into effect until 2014 and a letter from Gov. Bredeson points out that by not signing it it gives the legislator time to "rethink" it. Which means that there is time for coming up with some measure to undermine or undo what was clearly the will of the people through their elected legislators. After all look how it at the margins of passage ......House 70-23
and the state Senate 27-3.
So as the earlier post said, at least he did not cave to the radical left...perhaps that thought was premature...
Congratulations to TN for opting out of the federal abortion mandate. Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen would not sign the pro life piece of legislation but also did not bow to the pressure from left wing groups to veto it. Thank you to Senator Black and Rep. Hill for their leadership.
Without comment, Governor Bredesen has refused to sign legislation barring abortion as a funded benefit in new federally mandated health care exchanges. Still, since no veto was issued, the protective policy takes effect immediately. Tennessee law allows the Governor to sign a bill, veto it, or allow it to become law without his signature.
HB 2681 / SB 2686 by pro-life Rep. Matthew Hill and pro-life Sen. Diane Black states:
No health care plan required to be established in this state through an exchange pursuant to federal health care reform legislation enacted by the 111th Congress shall offer coverage for abortion services. It passed the state House 70-23 and the state Senate 27-3.
Tennessee’s General Assembly was the nation’s first to pass legislation making clear that abortion would not be included as a benefit in federally required health care exchanges. Action was delayed until today as Governor Bredesen refused to sign the bill into law. In the interim, Arizona’s Legislature passed similar legislation which was quickly signed into law by their pro-life Governor Janet Brewer , making Arizona the first state to opt out of the abortion-funding mandates.
Tennessee Right to Life has praised legislators for their work this session to protect human life, particularly leadership of both the state House and state Senate.
“Pro-life citizens around the state are grateful to our new House Speaker, Kent Williams, for making the protection of life a priority, just as he said he would,” commented Brian Harris, president of Tennessee Right to Life. “And without the principled counsel and leadership of Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey, this session’s victories for life would never have been realized,” Harris continued.
Passage of the ‘abortion opt out’ bill follows easy passage this session of bills removing priority status from abortion-provider Planned Parenthood, redirecting family planning funds to local health departments which do not perform abortions, required posting of the state’s non-coercion policy in private offices and facilities which perform abortions, and first passage of SJR 127, a resolution requiring a public vote in 2014 to make the Tennessee Constitution neutral once again on the matter of abortion.
Kudos to Karen Brukhardt, Brian Harris and company.... The Senate did not put up as much of a fight as I expected. Could they be getting the message...TN is a pro life state.
Nashville, TN (LifeNews.com) --A bill in the Tennessee legislature has gone further than any other across the country that would make it to the first state to opt out of some of the abortion funding in the new health care law President Barack Obama signed into law. The Tennessee state House has approved legislation to have the state opt out of using state tax money to pay for abortions in state health care exchanges and, today, the state Senate followed suit. Voting 27-3, senators showed how state residents strongly oppose taxpayer funding of abortion as a bipartisan majority of lawmakers voted against abortion financing. That came after the state House voted 70-23 for the measure. SB 2686 strictly limits the use of public funds in health exchanges mandated by the new federal health plan. The language of the measure states: "No health care plan required to be established in this state through an exchange pursuant to federal health care reform legislation enacted by the 111th Congress shall offer coverage for abortion services." Tennessee Right to Life worked feverishly for passage of the measure and informed LifeNews.com of the victory. Representative Hill, the sponsor of the measure, talked about it before House passage. "The state has to take action on it to opt ourselves out of it so our tax money isn't used for (abortion),” he said previously. “I feel it is extremely necessary because ... we can continue to ensure our Tennessee tax money does not go to fund abortions at the federal level."
Daily Kos outlines with regret that states are moving ahead and opting out of abortion in upcoming exchanges in advance. What this does is ensure that tax payers are not being forced to pay for abortion in exchanges that are coming as a result of the new health care reform. Abortion supporters are trying to pretend that this will deny women abortion....they know better...as Rep. Matthew Hill stated, if a woman wants an abortion her choices are to pay for it with private funds or a private insurance plan that provides for abortion coverage.
Repro-Briefs: States Banning Coverage for Abortion
Care
We wanted reform. Instead, we got a loophole that may take away abortion
coverage all together as states move to ban insurance coverage of abortion
care.
Written by Robin Marty for RHRealityCheck.org - News, commentary
and community for reproductive health and justice. This diary is cross-posted;
commenters wishing to engage directly with the author should do so at the original
post.
A funny thing happened on the way to healthcare reform. Not only did a
woman's right to choose get thrown under the bus in an effort to woo anti-choice
democrats to vote yay, but a funny
little loophole showed up in the final bill.
[A]bortion opponents are not satisfied with the restrictions on abortion
already in the measure, particularly those on abortion coverage in private plans
that will be sold in the new marketplaces known as health "exchanges." So they
are pushing one particular aspect of the new law. It lets states ban
all abortion coverage in the exchanges.
Charmaine Yoest, president and CEO of anti-abortion group Americans United
for Life, said her group wasted no time drawing up a model state law to that
effect. They sent it out the day after Congress approved the health bill.
"It was a part of the legislation that states could opt out, and so we had a
heads-up that this would be a window for us," she said. "So we moved right in to
make sure that we could equip states with the tools that they need to have the
most effective opt-out possible."
It happened more quickly than we could have imagined.
You can purchase insurance in Tennessee that does not cover maternity benefits if you are sure you are not going to be using it but you currently cannot opt out of coverage for abortions. I hope this passes. Obviously being pro life I am not wanting to pay into a coverage that includes abortion but it stands to reason that if I am not needing maternity benefits, I surely am not needing abortions.
Article in Washington Post by Ezra Klien point out: Tennessee is at least the second state to take advantage of this provision,
advancing legislation that would eliminate abortion coverage from an exchange
that does not even go into effect until 2014. The Tennessee House Commerce
Committee passed the bill (HB 2681) on a voice vote last week. ... A Missouri
Senate committee also approved a bill that would deny insurers the right to
offer abortion coverage in any government exchange last month.
These are the kind of restrictions that Bart Stupak and his allies were
trying to impose nationally during the reform debate. Though they didn't
succeed, the law still leaves the door open for the states to act -- and I'd
expect that pro-choice advocates are already working to re-engage their foes and
pushing back on the state level. UPDATE 6:30 P.M.: My Mother Jones colleague Nick Baumann points
out that states' ability to restrict abortion coverage is "nothing new" --
they've been able to do so since 1945. He explains: "Health care reform may have
made conservative states more likely to prohibit abortion coverage by drawing
attention to the issue, but it didn't enhance their powers to do so."
The 11 House Democrats led
by Rep. Bart Stupak who dropped their opposition to health care
reform legislation mere hours before the final vote have requested $3.4 billion
in earmarks....
... Since the health care reform push hit its final
stretch, numerous sweeteners for lawmakers' districts and states have been found
inside the package.... The individual earmarks requests from each of those lawmakers range from $20
million to $1.4 billion. Of the 8 lawmakers whose 2010 requests were available
for comparison, 5 requested more money than they did a year ago. Stupak
requested $579 million.
~Fox News, March 29
Writing in the Huffington Post, the President of Planned Parenthood lauds the Sr.Keenan, who in a critical time of the debate threw her support to the Health care bill. She and a few others broke with with the Bishops and contacted members of congress , claiming to represent thousands of sisters and helped to assuage the consciences of the representatives in order to win their vote. So now abortion is acceptable to the sisters! What a sad day for the Church and I hope you remember this face the next time you get a letter asking for donations for this organization. If they will sell out pre born babies for a pen and a "shout out" from the president of the nation's largest provider of abortions, they do not need our support.Please explain why she is not excommunicated!
From Catholic Vote Action.org
The last pen he used, reports Daniel Foster, will be given to Sister Carol Keehan, president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association.
Sr. Keehan, as most of you know, was a staunch ally of the Democrat efforts to push through their health care reform. She issued press releases on behalf of her organization asking representatives in Congress to pass the legislation, even without including abortion funding fixes (which they did). She met with Obama personally several days before the final vote in Congress, she contacted individual congressmen and assuaged their conscience that they could vote for the bill as-is, etc.
"One may believe that poor women should have affordable access to abortion.
This is a reasonable position and it likely will be the outcome as a result of
this bill. But it is not what Americans have been led to believe is true, nor is
it what most want. A 2009 Quinnipiac University poll found that 72 percent of
Americans oppose public funding for abortion."
"Prediction: Abortions will be performed at CHCs, you can bet your foreclosed
mortgage"
Read the whole excellent column that explains in clear language why the Healthcare bill will fund abortions by Kathleen Parker.
When Bart Stupak announced his support for the Senate Health Care Reform
Bill, one reporter asked him if the deal between Barack Obama and the pro-life
Democrats was made face-to-face with the President himself. Mr. Stupak said that
he had made the deal working with White House
Counsel Robert Bauer.
Who is this Robert Bauer - the man capable of selling Bart Stupak a bill of
goods on the Executive Order?
Prior to his involvement with Mr. Obama,
from 2005-2007 Mr. Bauer was a registered lobbyist for
America Votes. In this capacity, he sought to enact laws that
would help the fund-raising prospects of left-leaning 527s. After he finished
the campaign of Mr. Obama, he served as the Counsel for the pro-choice election
powerhouse EMILY's List.
America Votes (AV) is a coalition of liberal groups that has, according to
their website "more than 20,000,000 Americans in every state in the country." AV
is controlled by an Executive Board that consists of 9 members: 5 unions
(AFL-CIO, AFSCME, NEA, SEIU, and UFCW), 2 global warming advocacy groups (The
Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters), 1 general liberal advocacy
network (Progressive Future), and, most importantly, the most
influential pro-choice lobby - The Planned Parenthood Action
Fund.
Of course, this doesn't prove that Stupak's deal is meaningless--we have to
rely on logic and the law to prove that. But it is fitting
that Stupak sold out for a deal with a lawyer who has worked for the abortion
lobby. As Planned Parenthood's president said, the executive order is nothing
more than a "symbolic gesture."
WASHINGTON — Both sides in the abortion debate came to a
rare agreement on Wednesday: The executive order on abortion signed by President
Obama,
they said, was basically meaningless.
From Michael Moore .....who is originally from Michigan. He takes credit for Stupak's deathbed conversion in this article...."Stupak stood on the floor of the House last night and, in a surreal moment, spoke against the "Stupak Amendment"! Once he got through hismedieval meanderings about where babies come from, he gave one helluva speech."
This pretty much tells it all. When Jill Stanek ends with Thanks Bart Stupak, you foolish man she sums up my sentiments. I wanted to believe he was a man of principle. As it turns out he was a politician. He surely knew that his executive order was not binding and that any challenge by PP would send it toppling....BHO is clever and knew just how to word it with a wink and a nod to PP who with their friends at ACLU would challenge it and throw it out. Then BHO and Stupak could say oh well we tried.
The end result.....our tax money for abortions. I wonder where the Manhattan Declaration will come in here. Hard to see anything good coming out of today. Stupak even said that they did not need his vote to pass but he gave it to them anyway.
Now it all comes out. It didn't take long for Planned
Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards to revel in PP's
financial gain from passage of healthcare in a Planned Parenthood statement just
released. Note also Richards' dismissal of Obama's executive order....
For more than a year, PP has worked tirelessly for a health care reform
bill that would fix our broken health care system, strengthen women's health,
and achieve quality, affordable health care for all Americans.
Today, monumental progress was made toward achieving these goals with the
passage of historic health care reform legislation by the U.S. House of
Representatives, despite a symbolic gesture, in the form of an Executive
Order, to anti-choice Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI), which has diverted
attention from the central goal of health care reform - controlling costs and
extending coverage.
As a trusted health care provider to millions of women and families across
the country, Planned Parenthood applauds the fact that this legislation would
extend health care coverage, including family planning, to tens of
millions of women and families, guarantee access to affordable life-saving
screenings for cervical and breast cancer and other serious health problems,
protect women against gender discrimination by private insurers, end the
practice of dropping coverage because of pre-existing conditions, and
significantly increase access to reproductive health care.
The proposal also includes a commonsense provision to expand family
planning under Medicaid, which would significantly increase access to
essential preventive health care for millions of women....
Nonetheless, we regret that a pro-choice president of a pro-choice nation was
forced to sign an Executive Order that further codifies the proposed anti-choice
language in the health care reform bill, originally proposed by Senator Ben
Nelson of Nebraska. What the president's executive order did not do is include the complete
and total ban on private health insurance coverage for abortion that Congressman
Bart Stupak (D-MI) had insisted upon. So while we regret that this proposed
Executive Order has given the imprimatur of the president to Senator Nelson's
language, it is critically important to note that it does not include the
Stupak abortion ban.
Posted on Sunday, March
21, 2010 7:40:27 PM by bronxville
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) announced three
airports in northern Michigan have received grants totaling $726,409 for
airport maintenance and improvements. The funding was provided by the U.S.
Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration.
“This federal funding will help these airports better provide critical
services to communities in northern Michigan,” Stupak said. “I am pleased the
FAA has made this investment in our local airports and the individuals and
businesses they serve.”
Alpena County Regional Airport received a grant of $85,500 to acquire
friction measuring equipment, specifically a decelermeter and tow vehicle, to
replace equipment that has worn out.
Delta County Airport in Escanaba received a grant of $179,209 to install a
10 foot perimeter fence to enhance security and prevent wildlife from entering
the airport.
The Chippewa County International Airport near Sault Ste. Marie received a
grant of $461,700 to install lighted signs on Runway 16/34 and make repairs to
the pavement to meet marking requirements and maintain structural integrity.
This funding is provided to the FAA through the regular federal
appropriations process and is awarded through competitive grants.
this is very sad....was Stupak naive or did he just cave and need cover? Krauthammer says it is a total cave...they had the votes without Stupak bloc but this gave him and the White House the semblence of cover....the clue to me is the lack of outrage from the pro aborts....they know that they can challenge this in the courts and get it thrown out and get what they want when Obama and Stupak say well....I did the best I could. Actually now he has lost the support of the pro life people and the Dems.
from Jillstanek.com
Stupak Stripped of "Defender of
Life" Award
Susan B. Anthony List pledges to drive out
pro-life betrayers in November
In response to Rep. Bart Stupak's announcement that
he and other self-labeled "pro-life" Democrats will
vote in favor of Healthcare reform legislation with the addition of an
Executive Order from the White House to address
concerns about abortion funding, Susan B. Anthony List Candidate
Fund President Marjorie Dannenfelser offered the
following statement: "This
Wednesday night is our 3rd annual Campaign for Life Gala,
where we were planning to honor Congressman Stupak for his efforts to
keep abortion-funding out of health care reform. We will no longer be
doing so. By accepting this deal from the most pro-abortion President in
American history, Stupak has not only failed to stand strong for unborn
children, but also for his constituents and pro-life voters across the
country."...
"Let me be clear: any representative, including Rep. Stupak, who
votes for this healthcare bill can no longer call themselves
'pro-life.' The SBA List Candidate Fund will not endorse, or support in
any capacity, any Member of Congress who votes for this bill in any
future election.
"Now through Election Day 2010, these representatives will learn that
votes have consequences. The SBA List Candidate Fund will work
tirelessly to help defeat Members who support this legislation and make
sure their constituents know exactly how they voted. We will actively
seek out true pro-life candidates to oppose Members who vote 'yes' on
this bill, whether it be in general or primary elections. For these
Members, it will be a quick downhill slide to defeat in November."
"The executive order on abortion funding does absolutely nothing to
fix the problems presented by the health care reform bill that the House
will vote on this evening. The very idea should offend all pro-life
Members of Congress. An executive order can be rescinded at any time at
the President's whim, and the courts could and have a history of
trumping executive orders. Most importantly, pro-abortion
Representatives have admitted the executive order is meaningless."
Last night, Rep. DeGette told The
Huffington Post, "If there was an executive order saying
they weren't going to use federal funds in the bill to pay for abortions
that would be fine with me."
Today, Rep. Wasserman Schultz admitted to Fox
News' Megyn Kelly that "an executive order cannot change
the law."
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops pointed
out today that "only a change in the law enacted by Congress, not an
executive order, can begin to address this very serious problem in the
legislation."
Lincoln Davis is a true pro life Dem. however, Tanner is reported to vote no to give cover to Herron who is running as a Dem. for his seat as Tanner is retiring. Herron will try to run as a pro life Dem. which he most certainly is NOT. This must mean that they don't need Tanner who would have given in if need be. This is a sad day for our country and our state.
US Rep. Tanner won't support heath reform
bill March 21, 2010 14:10 EDT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee Democratic Rep. John
Tanner says he decided against supporting President Barack Obama's health care
overhaul bill over the expected cost.
Tanner said in a statement Sunday
that he doesn't think the bill adequately addresses the "long-term trend of
rising health care costs."
The measure seeks to extend coverage to 32
million uninsured people and the Congressional Budget Office estimates the
proposal would cost $940 billion over 10 years.
Fellow Democratic Rep.
Lincoln Davis has not said how he will vote on the latest version of the bill
after voting against the previous measure.
Last week, fellow Democratic
Rep. Bart Gordon said he had changed his mind would support the
bill.
They are really on the ropes. Obama to do interview with Fox News!!! Keep fighting,
By Michael O'Brien - 03/16/10 07:48 AM ET
The House's healthcare vote could be delayed until as late as Easter, House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Tuesday. Clyburn, in an interview with McClatchy Newspapers, said it is possible that the House vote on healthcare reform could take place long past the vote Democratic leaders had hoped for this week. "The chances are good, but I wouldn't bet on it," the third-ranking House Democrat said of whether a healthcare vote could be held by the April 4th holiday. Democrats are working to cobble together the necessary votes to either pass the Senate's healthcare bill with a separate set of fixes to it, or a congressional rule that would deem the Senate bill as having passed. Clyburn, whose leadership job is to serve as chief vote-counter for the Democrats, said that the vote on healthcare could be closer than previous nail-biters the House has held on the stimulus act and on its own healthcare bill. "I need 216 votes to pass this bill," Clyburn told McClatchy. "I think I'm going to get 216 votes. It could be closer than last time. All I want is 216 votes." "The stimulus vote was nothing compared to this," the majority whip added.
