It's not about abortion

I'm spitting nails over the inclusion of abortion restrictions in the House version of health care reform.  I think it was sneaky and dishonest.

Reforming our health care system and the question of whether or to what degree abortion should be restricted are two separate issues.  It's my opinion that Reps. Stupak (a Democrat!!) and Pitts and those who supported the amendment stuck the abortion restrictions into the health care bill as a poison pill amendment.  They didn't think they could derail health care reform using their ACTUAL objections, so they decided to try to kill it another way.  There are plenty of people who have legitimate beefs with health care reform, and I think they should bring those concerns up.  These things should be debated openly and fairly.  You think health care reform is too expensive?  That's a genuine concern.  We should talk about that.  We should talk about just how much it's going to cost as proposed, how it's going to get paid for, and what the alternatives might be.

The problem is, these conservative so-called Democrats and the Republicans who oppose health care reform are afraid their REAL concerns aren't that real afterall.  They're afraid that if they get debated, the American people and members of Congress who are on the fence will decide health care reform is worth it in spite of the risks, and it will get passed.

So they stuck abortion in there.  It's an issue with huge moral and religious implications, and one on which few people waver.  It gives a lot of people who might otherwise support health care reform a reason to oppose it if restricting the right of women to choose abortion is part of the package.

I don't think they even hoped to impose new restrictions on abortion.  I think this was a 100% cynical move, intended solely to derail health care reform.  In the long-term, I'm sure they would like to restrict abortion, but this was a purely tactical move.  This is the kind of thing that provides fuel for the "hate" side of my love-hate relationship with American politics.

Come on Senate, do the right thing.  Pass real health care reform without restricting abortion, then stand up for it in conference.