Anglican Mainstream

President Obama said in an interview with ABC News on Monday that he doesn't want to change the "status quo" with regard to government funding of abortion.

To date, the proposals have offered funding for abortion.  But a forced vote on an amendment by pro-life Democrats prohibited that.  President Obama said he doesn't want "to restrict women's insurance choices" – meaning he wants plans that include abortion to continue offering them after the government gets involved.

In the interview with reporter Jake Tapper, Obama appeared to support the Hyde Amendment that prohibits abortion funding in other areas of federal law.

"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," he said.

While the president sounds like he's on both sides of the issue, he may be attempting to make a fine distinction.  It would appear his argument is that money given to the federal government as premiums and paid out for abortions does not qualify as "tax money," and therefore is not, in his mind, "federal funding."  Pro-life groups disagree strongly.

Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee, said the president should come clean with the American people.

"The only thing that will prevent the health-care bill from being 'an abortion bill' is precisely the Stupak-Pitts amendment," he said, "as the House of Representatives recognized by a 46-vote margin."

President Obama told a joint session of Congress in September that "no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions."

That proved false upon further inspection of the House bill.

"The phoniness of Obama's claim…should be evident to any observer by now," Johnson said.  "In reality, the White House and top Democratic congressional leaders have been working hard to create a national federal government health plan that would fund abortion on demand, just as Obama promised Planned Parenthood."