Nineteen Democrats in the U.S. House have sent a letter (PDF download) to Speaker Nancy Pelosi pledging their opposition to any health care overhaul that mandates abortion coverage.
North Carolina congressmen Heath Shuler, D-11th, and Mike McIntyre, D-7th, were among the Democrats who signed the letter.
It says in part:
We believe in a culture that supports and respects the right to life and is dedicated to the protection and preservation of families. Therefore, we cannot support any health care reform proposal unless it explicitely excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan. We believe that a government-defined or subsidizied health insurance plan, should not be used to fund abortion.
That would be nice. But given the current president and Congress’ forte for using giant bills (such as stimulus 2) to smuggle kickbacks to their political allies, I wouldn’t count on it.
