Bart Stupak Defends Himself Against NARAL Ad Bashing Him on Abortion Funding

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Dec 7, 2009   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Bart Stupak Defends Himself Against NARAL Ad Bashing Him on Abortion Funding

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 7
, 2009

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Michigan congressman Bart Stupak is not letting stand a new NARAL attack ad that goes after him because he had the temerity to sponsor an amendment to ensure taxpayers are not forced to pay for abortions under the government-run health care plan the House approved.

Stupak has taken considerable heat from abortion advocates for sticking his neck out for the basic rights of taxpayers to not have to pay for the killing of unborn children and wounding of pregnant women.

NARAL has started an advertising campaign bashing Stupak and is in the middle of a fundraising effort to put as much as $75,000 behind the ads.

Stupak has issued a statement responding to what he calls "the latest misinformation about the Stupak amendment" from NARAL.

“The continued spread of misinformation about the Stupak amendment by NARAL and other organizations has no place in the health care reform debate," he said. " will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure we maintain current law of no federal funding for abortion in order to pass health reform legislation that provides access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans.”

"Our focus must be on passing health care reform legislation – not on overturning more than 30 years of federal policy prohibiting federal funding of abortion. Our amendment maintains current law. That is why it was supported by 64 pro-choice and pro-life Democrats," Stupak continued.

Specifically, Stupak notes that NARAL falsely claims he introduced abortion into America’s health care debate, but Stupak says his amendment was merely a response to the Capps amendment that already used accounting gimmicks to hide government funding of abortions.

"The Capps amendment attempted to set a new precedent for abortion funding, essentially negating the Hyde language that has been law for more than 30 years," Stupak said. "The Capps amendment mandated at least one insurance plan provide abortion coverage; required a minimum $1 monthly charge for every enrollee in the public option that would go toward paying for abortion; and, allowed individuals receiving federal affordability credits to purchase health insurance plans that cover abortion."

NARAL claims the Stupak amendment imposes one of the worst restrictions on a woman’s right to choose in a generation.

"The Stupak amendment is in line with current law, as well as public opinion and does not restrict any woman’s ability to obtain abortion services," he replied.

Stupak also noted that current federal law prohibits taxpayer funding of abortion under a myriad of programs.

"Current law prohibits federal funding of abortion and insurance policies that cover abortion through programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program. The Stupak amendment is continuation of this policy – nothing more, nothing less," he said.

Stupak also noted that, according to recent polls by Washington Post-ABC News and CNN, 61 percent of Americans do not support the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortion.

“I encourage members of Congress to listen to the American people and the majority of House members who have made it very clear we do not want taxpayer dollars funding abortion,” Stupak concluded. “While these ads may be great for NARAL’s fundraising efforts, they unfortunately have no basis in reality and are a distraction from efforts to move true health care reform forward in this nation."

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