According to www.factcheck.org, “Despite what Obama said, the House bill would allow abortions to be covered by a federal plan and by federally subsidized private plans.”

The proponents of the administration’s proposed health care reform bill claim that the “Hyde Amendment” will keep abortion from being funded by tax dollars.  However, what they fail to tell the public is that the Hyde Amendment already allows abortions to be federally funded in certain cases.  These exempted abortions are those in cases of “rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother.”  So the claim that the Hyde Amendment bans all federal funding for all abortions is blatantly false.  To further solidify this lie of “no abortion coverage paid for by tax payer funds,” the Capps amendment was passed (with no republican support.)  The Capps amendment specifically states that the abortions which are already covered under the Hyde amendment will continue to be funded, and then there is this pertinent information that Obama would rather the public not see (courtesy of www.factcheck.org):

As for other types of abortions, the Capps amendment leaves it to the secretary of Health and Human Services to decide whether or not they will be covered. It says, “Nothing in this Act shall be construed as preventing the public health insurance option from providing” abortion services that would not be legal for Medicaid coverage. Says the NRLC’s Johnson: “The Capps Amendment MANDATES that the public plan cover any Medicaid-fundable abortions, and AUTHORIZES the secretary to cover all other abortions. … [F]rom day one, she [Secretary Kathleen Sebelius] is authorized to pay for them all. And, she will.”

We can’t say what anyone will do in the future. But Obama himself said on July 17, 2007, that “[i]n my mind, reproductive care is essential care” and would be covered by his public insurance plan. He was addressing Planned Parenthood:

Obama, July 17, 2007: We’re going to set up a public plan that all persons and all women can access if they don’t have health insurance. It will be a plan that will provide all essential services, including reproductive services, as well as mental health services and disease management services, because part of our interest is to make sure that we’re putting more money into preventive care.

Obama did not use the word “abortion,” but a spokesman for the campaign said later that abortion would be included, according to the Chicago Tribune. The NRLC has posted an unedited video of Obama’s response on YouTube (along with some comments which are the group’s opinions and not necessarily those of anyone at FactCheck.org).

Public Funds

The Capps amendment does contain a statement – as we noted in an earlier article – that prohibits the use of public money to pay for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest and to save the life of the mother. That would still allow the public plan to cover all abortions, so long as the plans took in enough private money in the form of premiums paid by individuals or their employers. The Capps language also would allow private plans purchased with federal subsidies (“affordability credits” for low-income families and workers) to cover abortion.

Broader language was contained in an amendment offered by Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan the day after the Capps amendment was approved. The Stupak amendment would have overruled Capps and prohibited government funding of “any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion,” except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. The Stupak amendment was rejected by the committee 27 – 31.

The final verdict regarding, Abortion:  Which Side is Fabricating?

“As for the House bill as it stands now, it’s a matter of fact that it would allow both a “public plan” and newly subsidized private plans to cover all abortions.”

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