Obama: 'This is a Health Care Bill, Not an Abortion Bill'

[DearAbby]

President Obama said today that Congress needs to change abortion-related language in the health care bill passed by the House of Representatives this weekend that includes tougher restrictions on abortion funding but said there is more work to be done before a final piece of legislation gets to his desk.

"I laid out a very simple principle, which is this is a health care bill, not an abortion bill," Obama said. "And we're not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions.

Saying the bill cannot change the status quo, the President said "there are strong feelings on both sides" about an amendment passed on Saturday and added to the legislation, "and what that tells me is that there needs to be some more work before we get to the point where we're not changing the status quo."

After a contentious debate, the House passed a health care bill on Saturday that includes a provision banning abortion from being covered in the public insurance option contained in the bill. The bill also prevents women receiving insurance subsidies from purchasing private plans that cover abortion. Liberals in the House Democratic caucus were opposed to these provisions but voted for the overall bill.

Video with article here:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/abc-news-exclusive-obama-jobs-health-care-ft/story?id=9033559

[Tommy_Carcetti]

1. You mean....

[Lars39]

4. Reid has already said there would be a Stupak-like amendment in it.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

7. Okay. nt

[emulatorloo]

40. Senate GOP cool to Stupak amendment

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4140213&mesg_id=4140213

[NashVegas]

2. Is It Me Or Should That Message Be Directed at REPUKES?

Or is it safe to say the bill isn't going to cover Viagra, either?

[emulatorloo]

37. It is directed at the stupak-types

Stupak changes the status quo. So it has to go.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. Translation: "Just shut up, you FemiNazis".

[prolesunited]

6. Yes, thats *exactly* what he said.

:eyes:

[FatDave]

31. I'm not sure I've ever seen a point more thoroughly missed. (nt)

[SemiCharmedQuark]

35. Did you even read the article? It's only a few paragraphs long.

[Arkana]

43. ...

The point <----------------------------
Your head

[optimator]

5. "Saying the bill cannot change the status quo"

"Saying the bill cannot change the status quo"
"Saying the bill cannot change the status quo"
"Saying the bill cannot change the status quo"
"Saying the bill cannot change the status quo"

[emulatorloo]

41. tranlation - Stupak amendment changes the status quo. So stupak has gotta go

EOM

[DearAbby]

8. Obama: 'This is a Health Care Bill, Not an Abortion Bill'

President Obama said today that Congress needs to change abortion-related language in the health care bill passed by the House of Representatives this weekend that includes tougher restrictions on abortion funding but said there is more work to be done before a final piece of legislation gets to his desk.

"I laid out a very simple principle, which is this is a health care bill, not an abortion bill," Obama said. "And we're not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions.

Saying the bill cannot change the status quo, the President said "there are strong feelings on both sides" about an amendment passed on Saturday and added to the legislation, "and what that tells me is that there needs to be some more work before we get to the point where we're not changing the status quo."

After a contentious debate, the House passed a health care bill on Saturday that includes a provision banning abortion from being covered in the public insurance option contained in the bill. The bill also prevents women receiving insurance subsidies from purchasing private plans that cover abortion. Liberals in the House Democratic caucus were opposed to these provisions but voted for the overall bill.

Video with article here:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/abc-news-exclusive-obama-jobs-health-care-ft/story?id=9033559

[xultar]

9. hummmmmmmmmmm

[Aramchek]

10. That's right!

[derby378]

11. Funny how this isn't even a health care bill anymore...

...but a health insurance bill.

[Avalux]

14. Always been a health insurance (reform) bill. n/t

[Luminous Animal]

34. Of course what you say is true but your wouldn't be able to tell from the title.

H.R.3962 - Affordable Health Care for America Act
To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes.

Obama, though, has clearly shifted from calling for Health Care Reform to calling for Health Insurance Reform.

The evidence is in the images in the links.

1) An image from an old whitehouse.gov page which clearly states "Health Care Reform"


2) A link to the current whitehouse.gov page which clearly states "Health Insurance Reform"
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/health-care

[polichick]

12. I like this line:

"there needs to be some more work before we get to the point where we're not changing the status quo."

[Lorien]

20. Kinda sums up everything thus far, doesn't it?

A long, meaningless exercise that in the end, just makes the privileged few even richer. It's been a long slow slide into the wrong kind of "change" since Reagan came along.

[emulatorloo]

36. he is referring to status quo on abortion, not healthcare. Since it isn't an abortion bill,

it should not change the status quo on abortion. Kind of logical don't you think?

ON EDIT - Stupak as it stands changes the status quo on abortion. I think we can all agree that Stupak is bad, and needs to be out.

[Avalux]

13. Good - now Harry Reid better sit up and listen.

Thank you President Obama.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

15. This is the Pres coming down on the side of Stupak for those that can't read

"And we're not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions."

[emulatorloo]

26. Not exactly "President Obama said today that Congress needs to change abortion-related language in

the bill"

Stupak is not "the status quo". Hyde is.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

29. How do you square that with

"And we're not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions."

Stupak builds on Hyde and enlarges it to private plans in the health exchange, any plan that accepts federal subsidies for its subscribers. It's pretty clear to me. He could provide some leadership at this point and say -

"No, we are not expanding Hyde to creep into the private sector which is what Stupak does." Think that will happen? Ha! Not in light of his sentence above.

[emulatorloo]

33. It would be helpful to see the full transcript -- but here is what I think the logic is

The status quo is hyde.

We are not looking to change the status quo,.

Stupak goes further than hyde

That is a change in the status quo,

I will see if I can find a transcript anywhere. Jake Trapper is not one of my favorites/

ON EDIT no transcript yet

Anyway this is what I am "parsing"

Saying the bill cannot change the status quo regarding the ban on federally funding abortions, the President said "there are strong feelings on both sides" about an amendment passed on Saturday and added to the legislation, "and what that tells me is that there needs to be some more work before we get to the point where we're not changing the status quo."

"I want to make sure that the provision that emerges meets that test -- that we are not in some way sneaking in funding for abortions, but, on the other hand, that we're not restricting women's insurance choices," he said.

[emulatorloo]

42. TRANSCRIPT HERE

I missed editing period, though;

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=8746141&mesg_id=8746141

relevant section:

TAPPER: Here's a question a lot of Senate Democrats want to know. You said, when you gave your joint address to Congress, that under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions. This amendment passed Saturday night which not only prohibits abortion coverage in the public option, but also prohibits women who receive subsidies from taking out plans that -- that provide abortion coverage. Does that meet the promise that you set out or does it over reach, does it go too far?

OBAMA: You know, I laid out a very simple principle, which is this is a health care bill, not an abortion bill. And we're not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions.

And I want to make sure that the provision that emerges meets that test -- that we are not in some way sneaking in funding for abortions, but, on the other hand, that we're not restricting women's insurance choices, because one of the pledges I made in that same speech was to say that if you're happy and satisfied with the insurance that you have, that it's not going to change.

So, you know, this is going to be a complex set of negotiations. I'm confident that we can actually arrive at this place where neither side feels that it's being betrayed. But it's going to take some time.

TAPPER: Do you think that amendment is status quo or does it lean a little bit in one direction or the other?

OBAMA: I think that there are strong feelings on both sides. And what that tells me is that there needs to be some more work before we get to the point where we're not changing the status quo. And that's the goal. The goal here is to make sure that people who have health insurance have greater stability and security, people who don't have health insurance get the ability to buy it affordably and that we're driving down costs.

And, you know, I think everybody understands that there's going to be work to be done on the Senate side. It's not going to match up perfectly with the House side. But obviously, it was a historic night for the House. We've never been this far. And I'm very confident that my colleagues in the Senate are going to say to themselves that we've got to get this done.

[madfloridian]

16. Sorry, but it did become an anti-abortion bill.

.

[polichick]

19. Yes, the House bill did. If they don't remove the amendment, I hope progressives...

...kill this faux "healthcare" bill.

[emulatorloo]

38. And that is what he is saying needs to be "corrected" -- It isn't supposed to be an Abortion Bill

it is supposed to be a Healthcare Bill.

[mullard12ax7]

17. Women don't count, not when it comes to health care...er...I...ah...mean....

Please keep issues separate so that the political propaganda technique known as "framing" can be used effectively.

[optimator]

18. "Saying the bill cannot change the status quo"

cannot change the status quo
cannot change
CANNOT CHANGE

[FrenchieCat]

23. on the established law of abortion.

Some of us use context.....

while others edit to only hear and see what they want.

Sad.

[optimator]

27. what's sad?

any laws prohibiting federal funds for women's health need to be changed.

[emulatorloo]

39. that is next on the agenda - Let's prioritize. Get Stupak out of the bill. Then challenge Hyde

Amendment.

Stupak can be removed on the grounds that it "changes the status quo".

Once HCR has that crap taken out, then we figure out a way to mount a challenge to HYDE

[Oregone]

21. Federal dollars should also not be used to subsidize private shareholders' dividends

RE: "federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions"

Fuck this reform already

[earthboundmisfit]

32. I LOVE THIS: "Federal dollars should also not be used to subsidize private shareholders' dividends"

That's a big goddamn deal to me, and you sure as hell don't hear much about it...

[optimator]

22. $ trillions $ for war and wall street

not a fuckin penny for women's health.
wow.

[phantom power]

24. What the hell does that mean?

Does it mean he thinks access to abortion doesn't count as health care? Or just that it isn't an important part of health care?

[emulatorloo]

It means he wants Stupak language out

or at least that is how I read it.

[ohheckyeah]

25. Didn't he recently criticize

Republicans because they didn't want to change the status quo?

[emulatorloo]

30. Stupak changes the status quo on abortion. That is his point.

[DemBones DemBones]

28. Obama promised to sign FOCA his first day in office.

He promised that at a Planned Parenthood conference.

Has he signed FOCA yet?

[BeHereNow]

44. DUH, and when abortion IS a healthcare issue?

Some abortions DO constitute medical necessity and are therefore HEALTH CARE.
Is he just trying to appease the fundamentalist nut cases or what?

BHN

[kelly1mm]

45. I agree that President Obama wants the Stupak amendment out

but the real question is if the bill that lands on his desk mirrors the House passed bill (I know this is highly unlikely) will he sign it or will he veto it? Should he sign it or veto it? (two separate questions)