After the vote Saturday night, Americans United for Life Action President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest stated, "This was a pro-abortion vote tonight because this bill provides for an unprecedented expansion of federally- funded abortion. Supporters argued that the debate needed to move forward - but life should be at the heart of any health care reform. There was no more important time for legislators to show their support for life than by leveraging their power now to demand that any health care reform bill genuinely respects life. What is health care about if it is not for preserving and protecting human life? Tonight the Senate failed to do just that. This legislation moves us toward redefining abortion as health care which is the ultimate objective of the abortion lobby led by Planned Parenthood. The flawed provisions in Reid's anti-life bill provide for federal funding for abortion, fail to protect medical providers who object to performing procedures that violate their conscience, and fail to prohibit federal funding of assisted suicide.”

Mathew Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, said, "The President and his allies in Congress are masters of confusion and deception. They create nonexistent 'emergencies' to scare the American people into submission. They have a political agenda which distorts the facts regarding health care. It is immoral to fund the destruction of innocent human life or to withhold medical treatment from the aged or ill. The current healthcare bill funds abortion, rations care, limits freedom, and will bankrupt America."

According to Liberty Council, President Obama's healthcare advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, supports what he calls a "complete lives" system of health care. His "complete lives" theory rations healthcare for children, adolescents, and the "elderly" by providing priority care to people between the ages of 14 to 40. Emanuel advocates denying care to the disabled "who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens." He added: "An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia."

Senator Reid's bill [on page 118] would authorize the federal government to pay for any and all abortions through a huge new federal health insurance program, the "public option," and also to subsidize purchase of private plans that cover abortion on demand.

Obama and Reid are also seeking to block enactment of the bipartisan Stupak-Pitts compromise, adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives on November 7 by a vote of 240-194. This amendment would prevent government funding of elective abortion through the proposed "public option," and would also prevent federal subsidies from paying for private insurance plans that cover elective abortion.

During the weeks ahead, pro-life groups will continue to fight the efforts of President Obama and congressional Democratic leaders to cover abortion on demand and assisted suicide in two huge new federal health programs. The Senate bill faces additional 60-vote hurdles in the future. Moreover, a courageous group of pro-life Democrats in the House of Representatives will oppose final approval of health care legislation if the Stupak-Pitts Amendment is gutted or removed.

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