RNC Still Paying to Fund Abortions Through Cigna Insurance

[Ian David]

KEEPING THE ABORTION-RELATED HEAT ON THE RNC.... Ben Smith reports this afternoon that RedState's Leon H. Wolf wants heads to roll at the Republican National Committee for having a health care policy -- for 18 years -- that covered abortion services.

For thirty years, we have fought tooth and nail to prevent our tax money from being used to pay for abortions. Turns out, we were apparently doing it through donating to the political party that was ostensibly on our side. This betrayal is so fundamental to the majority of people who donate to the RNC that it's almost unspeakable. I have no doubt that many of the staffers there will miss the point, so allow me to make it clearly: you have caused every person who donated to support your livelihood to become involved in what they perceive to be a grave moral evil.

The RNC's defense thus far seems to be excusable negligence; blaming it on some (surely departed) staffer who checked a box almost 20 years ago, and whoops, we weren't careful enough. So sorry. It won't happen again.

<snip>

But here's the part RedState misses: the RNC's "problem" isn't really a thing of the past. This anger misses the point of what's happened here.

<snip>

RedState and the Republican National Committee support the Stupak amendment, and according to its reasoning, the RNC will still be indirectly subsidizing abortions with its premiums. Leon H. Wolf wants an explanation for the previous mistake, without realizing that very little has actually changed here.

But more important is the underlying logic. The new-and-improved RNC policy will insure its employees through Cigna, and Cigna will still pay for abortions, just not for RNC employees. In other words, RNC premiums will go to the company, and the company will then use its pool of money to pay for abortions. That's the "fix" RNC Chairman Michael Steele scrambled to make.

More:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_11/020969.php

Hat-tip to: http://twitter.com/Wisco/status/5692374193



See prior thread:


RNC Cancels Cigna Plan They've Had Since 1991 - It Covered Abortions
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7005252

[cbdo2007]

1. This argument doesn't fly. I've been trying to pin the Catholic Church for this for years.

Our local Catholic diocese uses BCBSKC for their health insurance. BCBSKC still pays for abortions for other groups, just not the Kansas City Diocese. It's the same story, their premiums go to the BCBSKC pool of money which pays for abortions.

Apparently though, this "underlying logic" isn't enough for anyone to give much of a rats ass though.

[Ian David]

2. That might be info you can send to your congress-critters. n/t