This morning the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Susan B. Anthony List v. Steve Driehaus.
SBA List is petitioning the high court to allow their First Amendment challenge to Ohio’s “false statement” law to proceed on the grounds that the statute empowers a state agency to determine what constitutes true or false political speech.
In 2010, SBA List attempted to erect billboards to expose then Rep. Steve Driehaus for supporting taxpayer funded abortion by voting for the Affordable Care Act. SBA List was prevented from doing so because of the Ohio law, and was threatened with prosecution if it engaged in similar speech about Driehaus or other candidates in Ohio.
“Because Congress and the White House failed to include the Stupak amendment in the ACA as it passed, the law is full of abortion funding loopholes,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Since 2009, the SBA List has joined the United State Conference of Catholic Bishops, other pro-life groups and members of Congress in pointing out the clandestine abortion funding problems in the Affordable Care Act. These abortion provisions blatantly contradict President Obama’s 2009 promise that ‘under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortion.’”
“This lawsuit originated when we sought to criticize those who voted for Obamacare and the expansion of taxpayer funded abortion it entailed. We have full confidence in the veracity of our claims and hope to see our First Amendment rights affirmed by the Court. In 2014 and beyond, we must be permitted to expose the truth about Obamacare and those who support it.”
Since 2009 the SBA List, as well as Members of Congress like Reps. John Boehner (R-OH), Chris Smith (R-NJ), and Dan Lipinski (D-IL), along with other pro-life groups, and the United State Conference of Catholic Bishops, have argued that the Affordable Care Act permits taxpayer funding of abortion.
In 2010, then House Republican Leader John Boehner said, “The need for an Executive Order is evidence that this is true, and Congressional Democrats know it. Make no mistake, a ‘yes’ vote on the Democrats’ health care bill is a vote for taxpayer-funded abortions.” Click here for a list of additional quotes from notable parties regarding taxpayer funding of abortion in the ACA.
In 2010, Cardinal Francis George, President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), said, “The statute appropriates billions of dollars in new funding without explicitly prohibiting the use of these funds for abortion, and it provides federal subsidies for health plans covering elective abortions… Stranger still, the statute forces all those who choose federally subsidized plans that cover abortion to pay for other peoples’ abortions with their own funds. If this new law is intended to prevent people from being complicit in the abortions of others, it is at war with itself.”
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The USCCB was supportive of the Affordable Care Act but unsatisfied with the executive order. Click here for a list of additional quotes from notable parties regarding taxpayer funding of abortion in the ACA.
The ACA provides new federal tax subsidies that will finance elective abortion coverage for millions of women who did not have such insurance, expands state Medicaid program coverage of elective abortion for millions of women in dozens of states, and uses federal funds to finance elective abortion coverage for members of Congress and their staff.
In the meantime, the SBA List has launched a similar, multi-state billboard campaign exposing Senators Kay Hagan (D-NC), Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Mark Pryor (D-AR) for supporting taxpayer-funded abortion by voting for the Affordable Care Act. The fact on the billboards (Senators “voted FOR taxpayer funded abortion!”) is at the heart of Tuesday’s court case.
