Negotiators Add Abortion Clause to Spending Bill

[Annette]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/20/politics/20spend.html?oref=login

Didn't know if anyone had already posted this:

Here is a snip:

The abortion language would bar federal, state and local agencies from withholding taxpayer money from health care providers that refuse to provide or pay for abortions or refuse to offer abortion counseling or referrals. Current federal law, aimed at protecting Roman Catholic doctors, provides such "conscience protection'' to doctors who do not want to undergo abortion training. The new language would expand that protection to all health care providers, including hospitals, doctors, clinics and insurers.

[Mackenzie]

1. This is getting really confusing.

"The abortion language would bar federal, state and local agencies from withholding taxpayer money from health care providers that refuse to provide or pay for abortions or refuse to offer abortion counseling or referrals."

So they pass laws, then they pass new laws to change those laws, and then they pass even newer laws to change those laws. How absurd.

Abortion should not be political.

The legal system should be neither pro-abortion nor anti-abortion. Instead, we should treat abortion like we treat religion. The government should have a hands off policy. Keep politics and abortion completely separate. Don't regulate it. Don't ban it. Don't tax it. Don't subsidize it. Don't force insurance companies to pay for it. Keep the government as far away from it as possible.

The government that funds abortion or that forces insurance companies to pay for abortion can also go the other way and pass laws to restrict and outlaw abortion. The best thing we can do is to repeal all laws that regulate abortion, and get the government out of the abortion picture.

[xpunkisneatx]

2. "Gag order on Doctors"

Basically this clause says that a hospital or HMO can mandate doctors to not be able to even discuss abortion with patients...even if it would save the womens life. If any state govt tries to overide this law, all funding would be revoked. Its absolutely ridiculous!