The RNC's Health Plan Covers Abortion. Hypocrite GOP'ers Scramble to Deflect Blame

[DealMonkey]

Turns out the GOP is a bunch of hypocrites. Go figure. They oppose abortion coverage in any national healthcare bill, yet cover it themselves. Lame. Sooooo lame.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/11/new-wrinkle-rnc-insurance-plan-covers-abortion.html

New Wrinkle: RNC Insurance Plan Covers Abortion

November 12, 2009 6:52 PM

There is a new wrinkle in the abortion debate: the Republican National Committee confirms that its insurance plan covers elective abortion – a procedure condemned in the party’s platform as an assault on innocent human life.

The RNC’s policy, which was first reported Thursday evening by Politico, was put in place in 1991.

The RNC tells ABC News that the party is planning to review the abortion coverage contained in its Cigna policy but has not yet decided what to do about it.

The RNC’s abortion coverage is in the news because 176 House Republicans joined 64 Democrats on Saturday night in voting for an amendment by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., which prohibits federal funds from being used to buy health insurance plans that cover elective abortion.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele heralded passage of the Stupak amendment over the weekend while simultaneously telling voters not to get too excited about it because he was confident that liberal Democrats would strip the tight restrictions from any health-care bill which ultimately reaches President Obama’s desk.

In a Monday interview with ABC’s Jake Tapper, President Obama suggested that he was not comfortable with the tight abortion restrictions inserted into the House version of health-care legislation, saying that “there needs to be some more work before we get to the point where we’re not changing the status quo” on abortion.

He simultaneously suggested that he wants to preserve the existing policy of not using federal funds to pay for abortions directly.

Cigna offers its customers the opportunity to opt out of abortion coverage but the RNC chose not to opt out.

UPDATE:
Ken McKay, the chief of staff of the Republican National Committee, prepared a memo Thursday evening to all 168 members of the RNC informing them that party chairman Michael Steele has called for an immediate review of the elective abortion coverage contained in the RNC's health insurance policy by the RNC's 27-member executive committee.
"I can assure you that the Chairman takes this issue very seriously," writes McKay.

Woops! :\

 

[Nebor]

They're really only against other people's right to choose. Because those other people can't be trusted to choose properly.

 

[OrByte]

OH NO!! time for the TEA BAGGERS to rise up!!!

 

[nageov3t]

the GOP health plan matters this much:

 

[werepossum]

LOL That's pretty funny.

 

[DealMonkey]

Here's a new GOP tagline. Jump on this shit, Michael Steele, jump:

"The RNC: Proudly Covering Abortion Procedures for Nearly Twenty Years."

 

[cubby1223]

You guys are idiots.

What Republicans are opposing is taxpayer funded abortions. Cigna is a private health care insurer.

 

[fskimospy]

You guys are idiots.

What Republicans are opposing is taxpayer funded abortions. Cigna is a private health care insurer.

I don't know if you've ever noticed, but Republicans actually oppose ALL abortion. Their complaint against the practice is not its effect on the federal budget. What this does mean is that donations to the RNC can (and probably have) been used in part to fund abortions. I assume this is not what those donating to the RNC had in mind.

 

[Deeko]

You guys are idiots.

What Republicans are opposing is taxpayer funded abortions. Cigna is a private health care insurer.

You....don't have a very analytical mind, do you?

You are correct in that Republicans oppose taxpayer funded abortion. However, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but abortion is a pretty key issue in many elections. Some call it a "hot button" issue. Pop quiz - which major party typically opposes abortion? They refer to their movement as "pro life"?

 

[werepossum]

That's still pretty funny. We oppose abortion - for other people!

Abortion - the defining issue that neither party can affect, or wants to.

 

[SAWYER]

Hypocritical scumbag politicians..color me shocked

 

[Mean MrMustard]

I can't wait to hear how social conservatives are going to spin this. This is going to be good.

 

[dmcowen674]

I can't wait to hear how social conservatives are going to spin this. This is going to be good.

It's been an awesome week of Republican self pwnage all around :biggrin:

 

[Adrenaline]

If there is no abortion support whatsoever in the bill the Democrats will NOT support it. This is one of the things that will have to be in there for bipartisinship or you are going to have all democrats vote one way and all republicans vote another.

On this bill, people need to let down on some of their hardcore political views and honestly reach an agreement on issues or NOTHING will pass and the voters in general will be screwed. It is abortion that ws made legal in Roe vs. Wade nationally. Whether people are pro life or pro choice should be negated because it is LEGAL and thus should be put in this bill with stipulations. So far, it seems some stipulations have been put into place. Some people need to get off their high and mighty pedestal and do what is right for the American public.

 

[ayabe]

You....don't have a very analytical mind, do you?

You are correct in that Republicans oppose taxpayer funded abortion. However, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but abortion is a pretty key issue in many elections. Some call it a "hot button" issue. Pop quiz - which major party typically opposes abortion? They refer to their movement as "pro life"?

Most RNC donations are from taxpayers are they not? So how many abortions have GOP campaign donations financed - I hate to pick a number, but here goes:

45 million!!!!!~~~

 

[Mean MrMustard]

If there is no abortion support whatsoever in the bill the Democrats will NOT support it. This is one of the things that will have to be in there for bipartisinship or you are going to have all democrats vote one way and all republicans vote another.

On this bill, people need to let down on some of their hardcore political views and honestly reach an agreement on issues or NOTHING will pass and the voters in general will be screwed. It is abortion that ws made legal in Roe vs. Wade nationally. Whether people are pro life or pro choice should be negated because it is LEGAL and thus should be put in this bill with stipulations. So far, it seems some stipulations have been put into place. Some people need to get off their high and mighty pedestal and do what is right for the American public.

It is legal, but it should absolutely NOT be negated in this debate. Except when the mother's life is in jeopardy, abortion is elective. No public insurance should pay for elective operations, period.

Should taxpayers pay for breast implants and face lifts?

 

[HomerJS]

It is legal, but it should absolutely NOT be negated in this debate. Except when the mother's life is in jeopardy, abortion is elective. No public insurance should pay for elective operations, period.

Should taxpayers pay for breast implants and face lifts?

But that's not what would happen. The insurance exchange is set up by the government but private insurance companies would be part of this exchange and people could buy policies that cover abortion with private money.

 

[n yusef]

It is legal, but it should absolutely NOT be negated in this debate. Except when the mother's life is in jeopardy, abortion is elective. No public insurance should pay for elective operations, period.

Should taxpayers pay for breast implants and face lifts?

If you're worried about taxpayer money, then surely you realize that a child's healthcare is far more expensive than an abortion.

 

[GroundedSailor]

You guys are idiots.

What Republicans are opposing is taxpayer funded abortions. Cigna is a private health care insurer.

No, they are opposed to all abortions under the healthcare plan, be it taxpayer funded or privately funded.

Federal funds for abortion have been banned for a long time.


What I would like to see is how many members of the RNC plan actually took advantage of the abortion provision.

 

[Mean MrMustard]

If you're worried about taxpayer money, then surely you realize that a child's healthcare is far more expensive than an abortion.

I am against pretty much any form of public health insurance. I am also very pro-choice in regards to abortion.

I am anti-abortion personally. That's the beauty of being pro-choice. Everyone is extended their own choice, yes or no. If a taxpayer-funded health insurance pays for abortion, everyone has suddenly lost their choice as some of us CHOOSE to not having anything to do with abortion.

Not to derail this thread about RNC hypocrisy, but it's equally hypocritical if not more so for seemingly "pro-choicers" to demand taxpayer-funded abortions.

 

[jonks]

This is bad from a perception kind of view, but substantially irrelevent imo. I don't think anyone responsible for the plan sat down and said "ok, do we want to cover abortions, obviously yes!" They probably just didn't know it was covered. Which might go to the complexity of health coverage, i.e. you didn't know that cancer prescreening wasn't covered either, wouldn't it be nice if healthcare were simplified and shit was just covered?

So overall this aint a big deal as I see it, it's an optics problem. There's about 1000 better things to be slammin the GOP for rather than indavertent healthcare policy coverages. Seriously, does anyone believe the GOP secretly approves of abortions but only opposes them for politics? I don't think that, and I don't think George Tiller's murderer thought that either.

 

[cubby1223]

I don't know if you've ever noticed, but Republicans actually oppose ALL abortion.

Perhaps your partisan ass hasn't realized yet that there are pro-choice Republicans, as well as pro-life Democrats.

 

[heyheybooboo]

~~snip~~

Should taxpayers pay for breast implants and face lifts?

Since we pay for Viagra I don't see why not ...

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

The RNC opted out today.

 

[jonks]

Perhaps your partisan ass hasn't realized yet that there are pro-choice Republicans, as well as pro-life Democrats.

Indubitably, but perhaps eskimo meant the Republican Party which favors a Human Life Amendment to the US Constitution banning abortion nationwide.