Friday, January 17, 2014

Maybe the Best Piece on ObamaCare & Abortion You'll Find

Sarah Torre, a policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation whose primary focus is on religion and civil society, has produced a thorough, fair and extremely illuminating policy paper on ObamaCare’s connection to abortion. It’s an excellent piece.

Yes, it’s a longer, more detailed piece than the ones you usually see on this topic. But it’s the careful attention to detail and documentation that makes it so valuable. Read it slowly and I guarantee you’ll be the most knowledgeable person at the table when the issue comes up.

The title of the article is “Obamacare’s Many Loopholes: Forcing Individuals and Taxpayers to Fund Elective Abortion Coverage” and the key points it delivers are as follows.

1) Obamacare will severely restrict the ability of Americans to choose health care coverage and work with issuers that reflect their values.

2) Obamacare opens new avenues for funding abortion providers through navigator and assister grants and coverage mandates on insurers.

3) Federal tax subsidies will be available for health plans offered on state exchanges that include coverage of elective abortion.

4) Some Americans could pay an abortion surcharge with private dollars, possibly without their knowledge.

5) Every individual and family that obtains qualified health insurance on or off an Obamacare exchange will be enrolled in coverage of abortion-inducing drugs and contraception—whether they want such coverage or not.

6) State and federal governments can mitigate taxpayer funding for abortion coverage, but truly protecting taxpayers, individuals, and families will require full repeal of Obamacare.