Health Care Reform & Abortion: Separating Fact from Fiction

SUMMARY

This memo separates fact from fiction on abortion and the current health care reform bills and explains how the legislation strikes a delicate moral balance, doing as little as possible to change the current long-existing compromise on federal abortion funding, coverage and conscience clauses.

There are many reasons why members may support or oppose health care reform. Our analysis of the legislation is that abortion shouldn’t be one of them. This memo parses the legislation and finds that it strikes a delicate balance on the sensitive issue of abortion. In our analysis the bill would provide no federal funding for abortion, make it easier for people to choose a coverage option that doesn’t offer abortion services (87% of plans currently do), and would have the ultimate effect of reducing the number of abortions in America.

To read this Memo, open the attached PDF