Special Report/Call to Action: Act Now to Prevent Funding of Abortion in Health Reform Bill

The only thing that will prevent the federal funding of abortion is an effective amendment to the bill called the Stupak/Pitts amendment. Nancy Pelosi knows this.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - It all comes down to "The Rule." That's what I learned Tuesday night during the nationwide webcast hosted by Stop the Abortion Mandate.com. The vote expected this week in Congress is historically critical - and it's not the vote you might think.

Let me say this as bluntly as I can: The time is NOW. This very minute! If you have not made calls to your Senators and Representatives, if you have not sent e-mails and faxes, this moment in history is calling out to you for action. Do it now.

Nancy Pelosi's bill, HR 3962, mandates abortion coverage, plain and simple. The public option plan will be run directly by the federal government. Page 110 of the bill explicitly authorizes the public option to pay for abortions. I read through every page of the bill where the word abortion appeared, and I found a lot of confusing double-speak. It's prohibited here and permitted there, "based on the law as in effect as of the date that is 6 months before the beginning of the plan year involved." Phew. It's meant to be complicated and misleading, and it is.

Abortion proponents want to obscure the fact that the bill allows private insurance plans to receive federal subsidies to cover abortions. In addition to the public option, the bill also ensures that at least one private plan in every area must include abortion coverage, for which they will be subsidized by the federal government via our tax dollars.

Consider this message from Planned Parenthood's President, Cecile Richards to all Planned Parenthood supporters: "Because of relentless pressure from dedicated supporters like you, every version of the bills out there right now is free of the dangerous amendments anti-choice members of Congress tried to attach to health care reform....Tell your representatives to pass this crucial bill intact, and reject efforts to remove reproductive health care from health reform." (E-mail dated October 30, 2009, via Jillstanek.com)

The only thing that will prevent the federal funding of abortion is an effective amendment to the bill. That amendment is the Stupak/Pitts amendment. Nancy Pelosi knows this, and this is why she is doing everything she can to make sure the amendment never reaches the floor for a vote. She knows that if the full House is allowed to vote on the Stupak/Pitts amendment, it will very likely pass and abortion funding will be excluded from her plan.

That's why it all comes down to the The Rule. The procedural rule is a vote wherein the members of Congress decide which amendments can even be considered for a vote in relation to the bill. Pelosi wants a closed Rule - meaning she wants the members to vote for the Rule and not even allow the Stupak/Pitts amendment to be presented for a debate or a vote. She intends to use the Rule to prevent a vote on the Stupak/Pitts amendment.

Rep. Bart Stupak's amendment is our best and only hope right now of making sure abortion funding is explicitly excluded from this health care bill, and that's why time is of the essence. The vote on the Rule is expected by Thursday of this week. Before we even get to the vote on the actual bill, we need to get through the vote on the Rule.

Rep. Stupak, Rep. Chris Smith of NJ, and many others are well aware of the confusing and deceptive language of the bill. That's why they have been working so diligently to pass this amendment that clearly and explicitly excludes abortion funding. They must be allowed the chance to present the amendment for a vote. We need at least 40 Democrats to vote against the Rule so Nancy Pelosi will be forced to allow a vote on Stupak/Pitts.

The vote on this Rule will clearly define the position of every member of Congress related to abortion and the government's role in abortion. Those who will not vote against the Rule will be on record as supporting mandated abortion coverage paid for by you and me.

We have only hours left to make our voices heard and stop this terrible bill from becoming law. We must tell our Representatives and Senators that we are watching and taking note, and we will hold them accountable for their vote on this Rule. We must tell them they have no right to make us complicit in the killing of preborn children through our tax dollars. We must tell them in no uncertain terms that abortion is NOT health care.

I mentioned in a previous article last week that the only reason abortion is still a "right" in America today is because people who know better lack the will to put an end to it. In this moment, it is our responsibility to use our civic power - our voices and our votes - to help end abortion in our nation. Make the phone calls to your Reps and Senators. Send the e-mails today. Watch and make note of their votes, and remember. Then we can use our votes to remove from office every politician who refuses to protect the most vulnerable among us.

All the participants in the webcast stressed the critical importance of this vote on the Rule. They are urging us to call our Reps and Senators at both their D.C. office and their local office TODAY. E-mail them TODAY. Tell them to vote against the Rule, and to pass the Stupak/Pitts amendment.

There is only one reason to prevent a vote on Stupak/Pitts and that is the fact that abortion funding IS IN the health care reform bill and abortion supporters, including the President, want to make sure it stays there. Obama's promises that federal dollars will not be used to fund abortions are meaningless. The promise he is intent on keeping is the one he made to Planned Parenthood back in July of 2007:

"In my mind, reproductive care is essential care. It is basic care, and so it is at the center and at the heart of the plan that I propose. What we're doing is to say that we're gonna set up a public plan that all persons and all women can access if they don't have health insurance. It'll be a plan that will provide all essential services, including reproductive services."

Don't be fooled or lulled into complacency. We can still defeat this murderous provision in this bill if we act now. PRAY to the Lord of Life for hearts to be changed. Pray for our leaders to have the courage to protect the unborn. Pray for our President to use his power to ensure that every American, including our preborn children, is given the right to life.

Call your Reps and Senators today, right now. This is the moment.

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Jennifer Hartline is a Catholic Army wife and stay-at-home mother of three precious kids who writes frequently on topics of Catholic faith and daily living. She is a contributing writer for Catholic Online.

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