Obama Faith Council Member: Including Abortion Would Sink Health Care Reform
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 17, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — An evangelical member of President Barack Obama’s faith council says any health care reform package would be sunk if it includes abortion. Including taxpayer-funded abortions and forcing insurance companies or medical facilities to include abortions has been a concern of the pro-life community.
Reverend Jim Wallis, a member of the White House Faith Council, says in a new interview that Obama’s health care plan would be dead in the water if it includes abortions.
“Making abortion provisions part of healthcare reform will kill healthcare reform," Wallis, the president of Sojourners, tells CBN News.
"There are a number of people who believe this is an issue of deep moral conviction and conscience and there are firewalls that if they are breached will really destroy common ground," Wallis added.
Wallis’ advice doesn’t mean abortion will be excluded from Obama’s eventual health care package. Prior to the 2008 Democratic Convention, Wallis advised Obama to include language in the Democratic Party platform calling for the "reduction" of abortions.
"Abortion reduction should be a central Democratic Party plank in this election," Wallis told ABC News. "I’ll just say that flat out."
"This is going to be a big Denver conversation," Wallis told the television station. "You don’t have to call for criminalizing anyone. You don’t have to take a different stance about a woman’s right to choose. But you begin with the need for reducing abortion dramatically."
The platform eventually contained an uncompromising statement saying abortions should be allowed throughout pregnancy and paid for by taxpayers across the country.
Although it also added a plank emphasizing support for childbirth and helping pregnant women, it contained no actual proposals for reducing or limiting abortions. And, since he has been president, Obama has crafted a thoroughly pro-abortion record.
David Brody of CBN News recently interviewed Melody Barnes, the pro-abortion White House Domestic Policy Council Director, who couldn’t say whether abortion will be a part of Obama’s health care plan.
“We haven’t proposed a specifics benefits package or a particular healthcare proposal so we’re going to be engaging with Congress to have this conversation," Barnes said. "We haven’t had that conversation yet."
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