Some Clarity on Health Care and Abortion

Kathleen Parker:

It is telling that the nation's largest abortion provider - Planned Parenthood - is claiming "victory" because "we were able to keep the Stupak abortion ban out of the final legislation and President Obama did not include the Stupak language in his executive order."

Several supporters of the bill have argued that this debate is otherwise irrelevant because abortions aren't performed at CHCs. While currently true, this doesn't mean that CHCs wouldn't like to offer abortion among their reproductive services.

Under the new law, they can. There's nothing to stop them.

Here's why. By statute, CHCs are required to provide all "required primary health care services," defined to include "health services related to ... obstetrics or gynecology that are furnished by physicians."

Federal courts long have held that when a statute requires provision of health services under such broad categories, then the statute must be construed to include abortion unless it explicitly excludes it. Voila.

One may believe that poor women should have affordable access to abortion. This is a reasonable position and it likely will be the outcome as a result of this bill. But it is not what Americans have been led to believe is true, nor is it what most want. A 2009 Quinnipiac University poll found that 72 percent of Americans oppose public funding for abortion.

Prediction: Abortions will be performed at CHCs, you can bet your foreclosed mortgage on that. There was always a will by this administration, and now there's a way.

Read the rest.