Health-Care Repeal Fails in Senate, Next Course: Incrementally Defeat Individual Sections of Health Care -- Promising Long, Drawn-Out Debate

We all read yesterday that the Senate struck down the bill to repeal health care reform, which, of course, was not really news. The House vote to strike down job-killing Obamacare was largely a symbolic measure. The real news came out today, which is that after weeks of wrangling about a bill that actually has a negative impact on the economy, House Republicans announced they will dedicate many more weeks and possibly months attempting to incrementally defeat the most unpopular elements of the bill.

Americans are, according to polls (poll analysis), increasingly flocking towards the President as Republicans continue to bungle their mandate to focus on jobs and the economy. Obama’s approval ratings are the highest they’ve been for years, largely due to an increase in support from independents (36% approval rate last July, compared to 48% now). Not only are Republicans over-focusing on the outright repeal of health care, they're also focusing more on ‘family values’ issues like abortion. Just today Republican lawmakers, after massive outcries from women’s groups and days of dragging their feet, finally removed the term “forcible rape” from the antiabortion bill being debated in Congress. Critics argue that rape is by definition forced, as it seemed lawmakers were trying to make some cases of rape except – like in cases where the victim is unconscious.

But back to health care, Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, prepared Americans for a long fight on repealing individual parts of the law, saying “These are the first steps in a long road that will culminate in 2012. We will continue to expose flaws and faults in this legislation… and the courts will continue to review it.” Democrats and Republicans alike are both hoping the Supreme Court will quickly take up the case to put an end to the debate.

Also coincidentally in the news today Virginia’s attorney general announced that he wanted to bypass the lower court system by asking the Supreme Court to consider the constitutionality of the health care law on a more expedited basis. But, historically at least, Democrats have a lot more precedents to point towards in arguing that the health care law is constitutional. As Senator Richard Lugar, Democrat of Illinois, said, “This is not the first major law that’s been challenged in the courts, even challenged successfully in the lower courts.” He then cited the Social Security Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Federal Minimum Wage law – all of which were challenged, sometimes successfully in lower courts, and ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court.


Further Reading:

CS Monitor: Health-care repeal fails in Senate
NY Times: VA. to ask supreme court to rule on health law

GOP Targets Abortion, Ignoring Mandate for Jobs and Economy

Pro-life advocates all across the country are stepping up their efforts to chip away at abortion rights at the federal and state level. Many are particularly incensed that Republicans have totally misread their mandate (if you even want to call it that).  Nancy Keenan, President of Naral Pro-Choice America said, “The 2010 elections were about jobs and the economy. It was not an endorsement of an anti-choice agenda.”

Efforts in the House of Representatives are underway to pass their third piece of legislation, HR 3 (the low number signifies its high priority). The bill, “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” is an effort to reduce federal abortion funding that was put in place with health care reform.

But, opponents rightfully claim, it’s not even clear that Obamacare does that. Before the historic health care reform passed last year, 87% of insurance plans already included an option for abortion coverage. So this new law is actually not stripping away pro-choice rights from the health care law, but stripping away abortion rights that were already available before 2009.

Efforts to pass pro-life legislation are also taking off at the state level. The election in November not only changed the make-up of the Capital, but of state legislators and state capitals as well. There are now 29 pro-life governors, up from 21, and 15 states with both a pro-life governor and legislator, up from 10.

The newly elected legislators are united in making progress on three fronts: (1) pushing women to review an ultrasound of the fetus, (2) cutbacks in insurance coverage, and (3) tighter regulations of late-term abortions. Whether or not this will actually prevent abortions is a whole other subject that deserves wider scrutiny. It will most likely push women to perform an abortion themselves, or turn to an underground market, both of which would put women at much greater risk to their health. Doctors will also have to make tough decisions, and be forced to wait before providing abortions until the women become dangerously ill so the operation can be legally performed. We’ll also probably see more cases of mothers simply abandoning their babies. Besides these truly scary worst-case scenarios, there is just something inherently arrogant and disgusting about people trying to impose their moral beliefs onto others through guilt and fear.

Even though there is a sizeable portion of America that is pro-life, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a backlash from the public. So far newly elected Republicans have focused on many pieces of legislation that the voters simply do not support – like repealing health care, and cutting Medicaid and Social Security. The new House has also, at the same time, neglected to bring up the issues that that they largely got elected to address – jobs and the economy. Even if pro-lifers do make great strides over the next few years, it could very well being a Pyrrhic victory, costing them dearly in 2012.

Further Reading:

NPR: After Health Care Repeal GOP Targets Abortion

Huffington Post: Roe v Wade 38 and Under Attack

NY Times: Across Country, Lawmakers Push Abortion Curbs