Health Care Vote Updates

Rep. Bart Stupak has made it official: "I'm pleased to announce that we have an agreement...to protect the sanctity of life in health care reform." The executive order will make clear that federal funds will not go to abortion services. "We've all stood on principle," Stupak told reporters.

Following Stupak, Rep. Nick Rahall (D-Va.) calls health care reform the "most pro-life legislation I will vote upon in my 34 years" in Congress.

The question raised by the Stupak deal: If Democrats already had the votes needed this morning--and by every indication, they did -- why give pro-life groups anything? The answer comes down to a desire to allow vulnerable Democrats to vote no. In other words, the deal was cut not to pass the bill, but to protect the majority.

-- RYAN GRIM AND NICO PITNEY, 4:08 PM ET

 Today, the President announced that he will be issuing an executive order after the passage of the health insurance reform law that will reaffirm its consistency with longstanding restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortion.



While the legislation as written maintains current law, the executive order provides additional safeguards to ensure that the status quo is upheld and enforced, and that the health care legislation’s restrictions against the public funding of abortions cannot be circumvented.



The President has said from the start that this health insurance reform should not be the forum to upset longstanding precedent. The health care legislation and this executive order are consistent with this principle.



The President is grateful for the tireless efforts of leaders on both sides of this issue to craft a consensus approach that allows the bill to move forward.



A text of the pending executive order follows:



EXECUTIVE ORDER



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ENSURING ENFORCEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ABORTION RESTRICTIONS IN THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT



By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (approved March __, 2010), I hereby order as follows:



Section 1. Policy.

Following the recent passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“the Act”), it is necessary to establish an adequate enforcement mechanism to ensure that Federal funds are not used for abortion services (except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered), consistent with a longstanding Federal statutory restriction that is commonly known as the Hyde Amendment. The purpose of this Executive Order is to establish a comprehensive, government-wide set of policies and procedures to achieve this goal and to make certain that all relevant actors—Federal officials, state officials (including insurance regulators) and health care providers—are aware of their responsibilities, new and old.



 
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