Wisconsin Petition Campaign Started to Drop Abortion Funding in Health Care
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
May 26, 2010
Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) — A Wisconsin pro-life organization has launched a new campaign designed to make the state the next to opt out of at least some of the abortion funding found in the pro-abortion health care bill President Barack Obama signed. Three states have already seen bills to do that become law.
Arizona, Tennessee and Mississippi have approved measures to protect citizens from what abortion funding they can and Wisconsin Right to Life wants the same for the Badger State.
WRTL officials told LifeNews.com that the group is starting a massive campaign aimed at allowing Wisconsin to opt-out of abortion coverage in the state-based insurance "exchanges" created by the federal health care law.
Susan Armacost, Wisconsin Right to Life Legislative Director, said WRTL has been working with legislators for some time on this issue.
"Polling has consistently shown that citizens do not want to subsidize abortion coverage or pay for abortions," said Armacost.
"Obamacare requires federal agencies to subsidize and administer health plans that will pay for elective abortions. The law also opens the door to direct federal funding of abortion in Community Health Centers, hundreds of which are operated by Planned Parenthood – the nation’s largest abortion provider," Armacost said.
She added, "While state legislation cannot correct all of the abhorrent federal abortion provisions, we do have the ability to make sure that the state-based insurance exchanges are not spending tax dollars to subsidize abortion."
WRTL joins other pro-life groups in maintaining that the executive order Obama signed has been widely and inaccurately reported as prohibiting taxpayer abortion funding under the law even though it cannot overrule the abortion impact of the law.
Wisconsin legislators can’t introduce an opt-out bill until 2011 when the legislature meets again.
But, as a first step in the campaign to enact opt-out legislation, Wisconsin Right to Life is promoting a petition to the new governor, who will take office next year, letting him know that hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin citizens want our state to opt-out of subsidizing abortions through health insurance.
Related web sites:
Wisconsin Right to Life – https://www.wrtl.org
Petition – https://www.wrtl.org/petition
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.
