Americans United for Life: Executive Order Won’t Stop Abortion in Health Care

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Mar 20, 2010   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Americans United for Life: Executive Order Won’t Stop Abortion in Health Care

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 20
, 2010

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — The pro-life group Americans United for Life released statements today from two of its top officials confirming what other pro-life groups and the top Republican in the House have already said. Namely, they don’t think an executive order will stop the abortion funding in the health care bill.

AUL president Charmaine Yoest told LifeNews.com, "the proposal to address the problem of abortion funding in the health care bill through use of an executive order is a tacit acknowledgement that the bill as it stands is pro-abortion legislation."

"Both the President and the Speaker have repeatedly denied this stark fact," she said.

"Furthermore, the AUL legal team has concluded that an executive order is not an adequate fix to mitigate the Senate bill’s establishment of taxpayer-funded abortion. For example, an executive order cannot prevent insurance companies that pay for abortions in the exchanges from receiving federal subsidies," Yoest adds.

"In addition, executive orders can be undone or modified as quickly as they are created. President Obama revoked the Mexico City Policy, through the use of an executive order, and thereby allowed federal tax dollars to finance organizations that provide abortions internationally for the first time in years," she continued.

She concluded: "This fact, coupled with the Administration’s repeated endorsement of the pro-abortion lobby’s agenda, force any reasonable person to conclude that this bill will clearly create the largest expansion of taxpayer-funded abortion in American history.”

Meanwhile, William Saunders, the senior vice president of the respected pro-life legal and legislative group, confirmed Yoest’s analysis.

"While a carefully worded executive order might be able to take care of some of the mandate concerns, it cannot correct all of the abortion-related problems with the bill. A statute cannot be undone by an executive order or regulation. For example, an Executive Order cannot prevent insurance plans that pay for abortions and participate in the newly-created exchanges from receiving federal subsidies, because this allowance is explicitly written in the bill," he said.

Saunders continued: "The fact that statutes cannot be overridden by executive orders or regulations has been repeatedly affirmed by the United States Supreme Court. In 2006, the Supreme Court struck down an executive order issued by President Bush to invoke military commission jurisdiction over Hamdan because Congress had impliedly prohibited this action. Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U.S. 557, 579-80 (2006)."

"Further, Executive Orders can be undone or modified as quickly as they are created. In spite of the fact that the American people overwhelmingly do not want to see their tax dollars go toward abortion, we continue to see restrictions on federal funding for abortions reduced to executive orders, appropriations riders, and regulations. The majority of Americans want to see a prohibition on federal funding for abortion included in permanent, statutory law," Saunders continued.

"Congress failed to deliver a statutory prohibition on abortion funding in health care reform, and an executive order cannot do the job," he concluded.

Related web sites:
Americans United for Life – https://www.AUL.org

Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com

Daily Pro-Life News Report Twice-Weekly Pro-Life
News Report
Receive a free daily email report from LifeNews.com with the latest pro-life news stories on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here. Receive a free twice-weekly email report with the latest pro-life news headlines on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here.