Pro-Life Senator Tom Coburn, Under Fire for Delivering Babies For Free
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 7, 2008
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Members of the U.S. Senate don’t typically earn money from another job after they’re elected to the august body because of concerns that they will be unduly influenced by customers or colleagues. Oklahoma pro-life Sen. Tom Coburn is an OBGYN and is coming under fire for helping his patients.
When he is not in Washington, Coburn works at the Muskogee Regional Medical Center.
The hospital changed from a public one to private ownership in April and, following that decision, Coburn has come under fire for working there. However, Coburn changed his practice and now delivers babies at no cost.
But that hasn’t allayed the concerns of the Senate ethics committee, which is controlled by pro-abortion Democrats who have threatened Coburn with censure for delivering babies at the medical center.
Coburn spokesman John Hart recently told The Hill newspaper that he thinks the charges are politically motivated by abortion politics.
“The committee has shown us zero empirical evidence to back up its flimsy claim," he said.
He cited other work other senators have done that was for commercial or private companies like pro-abortion Senator Pat Leahy, who recently appeared in a popular movie.
“If Sen. Coburn can only deliver babies for free at a public hospital, shouldn’t Sen. Leahy only be allowed to donate his notable thespian skills to a public entity like PBS?" he asked.
“The parents of babies Dr. Coburn delivers don’t choose him hoping to sway his vote, and they never have," he told The Hill.
‘In the 10 years Dr. Coburn has provided free healthcare to his neighbors while serving in Congress, the Ethics Committee has never pointed to a single conflict of interest. No lobbyist or any individual has ever attempted to infiltrate his medical office under the guise of an invasive medical exam to discuss Senate business," he concluded.
Tony Perkins, the head of the Family Research Council said there is some hypocrisy involved. He said the pro-abortion senators targeting Coburn wouldn’t have any concerns if he worked for Planned Parenthood doing abortions for free.
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