Promise keepers

WASHINGTON—Five years ago, the House of Representatives passed the Affordable Care Act by a vote of 219 to 212—with the final, critical votes for it coming only after President Barack Obama promised to issue an executive order reinforcing a ban on federal abortion funding. But a government report shows that more than 1,000 healthcare plans issued in 2014 under the law include abortion on demand—and many rely on taxpayer-provided subsidies.

The 2015 open enrollment period started last November and continues through Feb. 15. A website developed by the Family Research Council and the Lozier Institute, ObamacareAbortion.com, notes: “Due to a lack of transparency in Obamacare, Americans are again finding that it is very difficult, or even impossible, to clearly discern whether the Obamacare plan they are considering includes abortion.”

That website provides helpful state-by-state information, including the four states without any abortion-free plans: New Jersey, Vermont, Hawaii, and Rhode Island. In mid-January Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed lawsuits on behalf of two pro-life residents in Vermont and Rhode Island who say Obamacare forces them to pay for others’ abortions in violation of their consciences. “Paying for elective abortions should never be a prerequisite for accessing healthcare,” said ADF’s Casey Mattox.

What happened to the 2010 promise of an executive order? Former Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak, leader of the small number of pro-life House Democrats, at the time believed “safeguards” against federally funded abortion would “be enforced through this executive order.” Most pro-life leaders said Stupak was foolish to believe that. Now he admits the Obama promise has proved worthless, and left him “perplexed and disappointed.”

The broken promise means Republicans this year are likely to push again the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, which only the House passed last year. It would prohibit abortion coverage in all plans sold on government exchanges, and override a California regulation requiring all employer-sponsored plans—even those of churches—to cover elective abortions.

President Obama would probably veto such a bill, as well as another one with a good chance of passing: a national ban on abortions after 20 weeks. The House passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act in June 2013, but Democrats killed it in the Senate. Reps. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., reintroduced the bill last month on the first day of the 114th Congress, and it will likely pass again.

New Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, with a 100 percent pro-life voting record, has pledged the Senate will consider similar legislation. It will take 60 votes to get it to the Senate floor, and Republican senators total 54, some of whom (such as Maine Sen. Susan Collins) may not support the effort. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the bill’s original sponsor, has been working for months to convince moderates it’s in their best interest to back the popular legislation. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin is the only Democrat to privately commit to support it, but pro-life groups have their sights on others, including Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly and Delaware Sen. Tom Carper.

Passage of the bill would be the biggest federal legislative step forward since the partial-birth abortion ban became law in 2003 and the Supreme Court upheld it in 2006. Since that time abortionists have no longer been able to deliver the legs and torso of a baby, and then insert scissors to puncture the skull: Abortionists would then suction out the skull’s contents and pull out the remainder of what they’d turned into a corpse. Up to the moment of birth, though, abortionists can still inject a toxic saline solution into the womb to kill viable babies.

The Charlotte Lozier Institute, research arm of the Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List, found the United States is one of only seven countries in the world that allow elective abortions beyond 20 weeks—the list includes China, North Korea, and Vietnam. Thirteen states have now passed 20-week restrictions, and national polls have found a majority of Americans favor such protection for the unborn. A recent Quinnipiac survey showed support for a 20-week limit has increased to a 2-to-1 margin, with higher support among women than men.

Pro-life organizations estimate the legislation would save 18,000 lives per year, but they anticipate it won’t become law as long as Obama is in the White House. “The most important thing is education and gaining visibility,” said SBA List president Marjorie Dannenfelser. “This is one of those issues that really does transcend partisan politics.”

SBA List hopes to make the bill a major issue in the 2016 presidential election: It has solicited and received letters of support for a 20-week ban from virtually all potential Republican presidential candidates, except New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.