From this week's Saint Louis Review:
In an interview last month, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed that Catholic bishops she had spoken with endorsed the current Senate health care bill under consideration in the House. She also claimed that the bill was abortion neutral, which remains flatly false.
The House version of the health care bill protects the principles of the Hyde Amendment, which has been law for more than 30 years, by maintaining that federal dollars won't go toward paying for so-called "elective" abortion under proposed universal health care coverage. But the current Senate version requires all federally funded health insurance policies to have one option that included abortion. And, according to Health and Human Service secretary Kathleen Sebelius, there is an earmarked portion of every premium in the proposed health care exchange for a fund that would pay for abortions.
The U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops is well aware of the difference between the two bills and has called on Congress to protect the rights of the unborn in any bill. The bishops have said they will not support any bill that mandates federal money for abortions.
Continued on the St. Louis Review's website: It's simple — no tax dollars for abortion
