This morning, I was on NPR’s “Tell Me More” with Michel Martin. You can hear the interview here.
My interview followed an interview with Rep. Diane DeGette who is the head of the pro-choice caucus on Capitol Hill. I did not get to reply to one of her assertions on the show, but wish to do so here. Congresswoman DeGette argued that no one should have to purchase a rider for abortion coverage because an unplanned pregnancy is, by definition, not planned, so no one would purchase the rider. The show’s host, Michael Martin, pointed out that people get riders for insurance policies for a variety of reasons, such as having an expensive wedding ring for which you want additional coverage. DeGette said that weddings are planned, but that misses the point. Burglaries are not planned, and that is why you are getting additional insurance.
The pro-choice community is filled with analogies that don’t work. The bottom line is that there should be no federal funding, direct or indirect, for abortions. That is what Hyde enacted in regard to Medicaid and other existing federal health programs. Members of Congress and their staff, who participate in the federal health insurance program do not get abortion coverage either. It can’t be repeated often enough: President Obama risks all the goodwill he has built up with pro-life Democrats if he does not draw the line at federal funding for abortion. That may not matter to someone like DeGette who has a safe seat, but it matters to Democrats intent on holding their congressional majority and re-electing the President in 2012.
