Obama Admin Authorized Abortion Funding in Third State Under Health Care Law
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 16, 2010
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Add Maryland to the list of states, including Pennsylvania and New Mexico, where the Obama administration authorized federal taxpayer funding of abortions under high risk insurance programs created under the new national health care plan President Barack Obama signed.
The National Right to Life Committee, which blew the lid off of the abortion funding programs in the other two states, informed LifeNews.com today that Obama officials authorized funding in a third state.
"It looks like you can add Maryland to the list of states that were on the way to providing federally funded abortion coverage in the new federal Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP), at least until NRLC blew the whistle on the issue earlier this week," NRLC legislative director Douglas Johnson told LifeNews.com today.
Johnson refers to a July 7 press release in which Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley announced the creation of the Maryland Health Insurance Plan (MHIP), administering a new program in the state.
"MHIP currently operates a state high risk pool program and has the experience and expertise necessary to establish and operate the federal high risk pool program," the statement says.
It refers to a FAQ that asks and answers: "What benefits are offered by the MHIP Federal Plan? The MHIP Federal Plan offers the same benefit package as other MHIP plan options."
Johnson says that statement is "referring to the state plans that Maryland already had in effect — and those plans cover abortion."
Johnson also notes the irony that the first and only director of the abortion-funding Maryland MHIP, Richard Popper, is now overseeing the new federal PCIP program at DHHS.
"Each day brings more evidence that federal DHHS was merrily approving abortion-funding plans without a second thought, until NRLC blew the whistle on them," Johnson concluded.
The Obama administration has backed down on authorizing the abortion funding in the high risk insurance programs and promised no abortions will be funded with federal taxpayer dollars.
However, pro-life groups regard this as a promise that may never come to fruition and they are demanding a federal law be approved in Congress and signed by Obama ensuring no tax money will be spent on funding any abortions under the health care plan.
Related web sites:
National Right to Life – https://www.nrlc.org
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