Tuesday’s lead story by David Kirkpatrick, headlined “Abortion Fight Adds to Debate On Health Care,” must have come as a surprise to the Times’ readership. After all, it has been assured by the paper that the health care bills under consideration by congressional Democrats would not permit taxpayer funded abortions, and that conservatives who suggested otherwise were simply conjuring up another anti-reform myth.
Kirkpatrick wrote:
“As if it were not complicated enough, the debate over health care in Congress is becoming a battlefield in the fight over abortion.
Abortion opponents in both the House and the Senate are seeking to block the millions of middle- and lower-income people who might receive federal insurance subsidies to help them buy health coverage from using the money on plans that cover abortion.”
Read More: By Clay Waters, Times Watch
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It is unfortunate, but not unexpected that abortion opponents are attempting to complicate the already difficult task of introducing health care reform by turning it into a fight over abortion. From their standpoint, it is understandable that they don't want to pay for something that they are morally opposed to so unless the Democrats are sure that they are aligned amongst themselves and have enough votes to pass the reforms with abortion funding covered, it may be necessary to drop coverage to serve the greater good. Coverage for abortions could always be handled by a separate system of opt-in funding that could be tackled in another battle.