Abortion and Health Care Reform are Not the Same Issue

The Democrats original legislation on health care reform did not address the issue of an abortion because it is a separate issue. Like it or not, abortion is a legal medical practice in this country.

Many legal restrictions have been placed on abortion in the past. Federally funded abortions have been banned, with the exception of cases that involve rape, incest or the endangerment of the mother’s life. The Hyde Amendment places restrictions on Medicaid and forces states or the private sector to pay for the abortions of low-income people. Activists against abortion believe health care reform will open the door to federally funded abortions, since the issue was not addressed in the Democrats’ original legislation, and they will use this to defeat health care reform.

On the other side of the issue, pro-choice activists see this as an opportunity to ease restrictions on abortion; restrictions they believe are unfair since all citizens should have the same rights of access under the law.

The health care issue should not become an abortion issue. The idea of reforming our health care system was not meant to address the issue of abortion, but to give all Americans fair and unfettered access to health care and to slow down the surging cost of health care.

Those against health care reform today, are for the most part, against abortion. Those who are not necessarily against abortion, but are against health care reform, will become an anti-abortion allies. (The enemy of my enemy is my friend) When these two forces come together they could kill reform.

Republican Party members are good followers and good soldiers and most will not split away from the party platform. Democrats, on the other hand, are more independent in their thinking and will stray from the party platform. The question is, are Democrats independent enough to separate health care reform from the abortion issue?

Abortion is the law of the land, and has been since 1973 when the US Supreme Court made its decision in Roe v. Wade.

As a man my opinion on abortion cannot be seen from a woman’s perspective. However, I can understand the merits for and against the issue. What I don’t see, however, is an absolute connection between health care reform and abortion. Some see abortion and health care as being the same issue, one tied to the other, but in the case of reforming our healthcare system they need to be handled separately.

We need to address health care reform on its own merits. Like it or not, a woman’s right to have an abortion is now guaranteed by the US Constitution. The court made its ruling based on the Ninth Amendment, which states certain rights must not be construed or denied. The court has ruled that abortion is a basic right of an individual. The court did not rule on the rights of a fetus. In fact, the court ruled a fetus has no rights until it is able to live outside the womb on its own.

This is a very personal and emotional issue, but it must be removed from the arena of health care reform. I doubt reform legislation will have much impact on abortion rates. Health care reform will not cause pregnant women to rush to abortions clinics to abort their children. History has taught us that most people who want an abortion will have an abortion whether it is legal or not, and ignore any consequences to their personal health.

This issue is not about abortion. This issue is about a health care system that is broken. This issue is just as humanitarian as abortion because it affects so many people in this country. Abortion is not a health care issue, it is a moral issue and our government should not legislate its morality or shove religious or social values down our throats. Abortion is a personal issue between a person and their conscience, or a person and their God. No government has the right to displace God and make his judgments. I thought we had escaped that kind of tyranny.