Health Care Executive Order to Protect Unborn Falls Flat in Pennsylvania

WASHINGTON, DC  – Yesterday, reports surfaced that the Department of Health & Human Services is providing $160 million to the state of Pennsylvania  to establish a new high-risk insurance pool program that would cover any legal abortion in the state.

“If there was any doubt that the health care reform bill included taxpayer-funded abortions, those doubts are now laid to rest,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List. “So-called ‘pro-life’ Democrats pushed politics over principle when they supported a sham executive order that wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on.”

“Prior to the health care vote, Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper (PA-3) said she would represent the pro-life majority in her district. But it was clear she was playing politics. Pennsylvanians now know they are being forced to pay for abortions with their own money. Rep. Dahlkemper and the Obama administration said the executive order would prevent taxpayers from having to pay for abortion, but this Pennsylvania insurance pool program proves that that was a false promise.”

In the days leading up to the health care reform vote, pro-life Democrats like Kathy Dahlkemper and Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak said they would not support any bill which included federal funding of abortion. They reneged on that pledge when they voted for the final bill which provides for taxpayer-funded abortions.

An executive order was signed alongside the bill to appease the pro-life majority in America, but this latest report shows that the order lacks the proper force of law. The insurance pool program funded by taxpayer money will provide for abortions and the Obama administration’s executive order has not prevented this.

The Susan B. Anthony List plans to spend $6 million on voter education in the midterm elections, including $3 million on key Senate races. The Susan B. Anthony List is a nationwide network of over 280,000 Americans, residing in all 50 states, dedicated to mobilizing, advancing, and representing pro-life women in politics.  Its connected Candidate Fund increases the percentage of pro-life women in the political process.                                                                                 

For further information, please contact Kerry Brown at (703) 470-1926 or [email protected].  

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