Pro-life activists have opposed the current heatlh care bills in part because they would seem to leave the determination of what might be in a basic benefits package, for a public plan, up to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
To pro-lifers, this is proof that these bills all-but guarantee that abortion is covered. After all, the President and the current HHS Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, are both pro-choice. Maybe there are even some pro-choicers who privately believe the same thing.
I just want to point out, to both sides, that this cuts both ways.
A warning to prochoicers: If you write a bill that basically leaves it up to the Secretary of HHS to determine whether abortion is a basic benefit, then it's likely that the President Palin could -- through executive order, not legislation -- reverse the decision.
A warning to prolifers: if you insist that the power be taken out of the Secretary's hand, and codified in law, the decision will be made by Congress. That might seem like a good idea now that you have a pro-choice president but may not seem like such a good idea when a pro-life President finds himself or herself unable to influence the benefits package.
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I am pro-life. However, I don't get your dilemna. The Congress should be the one to make the decision regarding the use of federal dollars to pay for abortions. In our system, the Congress controls the purse, not the President.
Likewise, in determining whether abortion is illegal or not, it is Congress (or state legislatures) who should decide, not the executive or courts.
"She represents what we Christian Americans desire"
What - LIES? Deceipt? Ignorance? Fear-mongering? Inarticulateness? Under-qualified? Smarm? Indulging in sex before marriage? Non-literate? No policies?
Jeez Louise you "christian Americans" have low standards.
Ellie Dee,
"What was your reason for "Presdent Palin"
For those on the right who cannot read and understand at the same time, Steve's scenario is merely to highlight that what one President can put in, another could take out. It wasn't that difficult to figure out.
Dear Your Name (aka anonymous coward),
"Pretty cool that Sarah mentions the death panel(pp425-429) on her FACEBOOK page and gets it dropped in 2 days!"
"It" was never there in the first place. The section on optional, paid-for, end-of-life counselling was put in the proposed bill by a Republican, and he says you (and the mistake you made) are (and I quote) "nuts".
And I agree.
ObamaCare is not going to pass. It is too expensive and will drive the US further into debt. Plus, HR 3200 is fundamentally unconstitutional. Without doubt, the bill would be challenged in court. The government does not have the right to put private insurers out of business but that is exactly what pages 16-17 do.
Regarding the death panels, you all must not know who is advising Obama. Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, brother of Rahm Emanuel, is health-policy adviser at the Office of Management and Budget and a member of Federal Council on Comparative Effectiveness Research. Emanuel says medical care should be reserved for the non-disabled, not given to those "who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens... An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia" (Hastings Center Report, Nov.-Dec. '96). Emanuel believes age discrimination is acceptable. Sarah Palin was right.
Dr. David Blumenthal, another key Obama adviser, recommends slowing medical innovation to control health spending. Blumenthal has long advocated government health-spending controls, though he concedes they're "associated with longer waits" and "reduced availability of new and expensive treatments and devices" (New England Journal of Medicine, March 8, 2001). I for one, am proud of our medical innovations. It is one strong spot in our weak economy. And relieving people of their pain is very Christlike. Of all the thousands of doctors he could have chosen as advisors, Obama picked Ezekiel Emanuel and David Blumenthal. Pray for Obama to repent or fail!
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