However, he is concerned about the second section’s discussion of insurance exchanges’ compliance with the prohibition on abortion funding.
“There it really talks only about separating the funds,” the Congressman told CNA. He said this policy was along the lines of previous proposals which had been dismissed by pro-life groups and members of Congress.
It purports to “segregate” federal dollars from other funds and use those other funds to pay for abortion services in the plans.
“To me, the executive order is a little confusing on that. At first it does say it will apply Hyde to health insurance exchanges, but when it actually discusses what will be done, the implication is that Hyde only deals with direct funding for abortion.
“I don’t know how that will be interpreted. I assume that the more-specific section two, which explains how Hyde will be applied, what the interpretation will be, that is what it is. Not the entire Hyde Amendment.”
While “hopeful” that the order will stand, if it does not, opponents of abortion funding “should be moving forward,” he said.
“And even if it does stand, I think we should be moving forward to put that [order] into statutory language,” he explained. “We have a new opportunity, potentially, before the exchanges go into effect in 2014. That still gives us three more years at least, before they start, to make a change in the law.”
The executive order itself was secured by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) who had led a coalition of pro-life Democrats seeking statutory restrictions on abortion funding.
Last week Rep. Stupak told CNA the order’s restrictions on abortion funding were “ironclad.” He also claimed that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had “votes in her pocket” from other Congressmen who would have voted to pass the bill if needed. Though the final vote on the bill was 219-212, Stupak said the total available numbered 222.
CNA asked Rep. Lipinski about that estimate. He replied that Rep. Stupak was much closer to the negotiations than he was.
“I don’t want to say anything that would in any way impugn the motives of Bart Stupak,” he remarked.
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“The day that all this happened, I went to Mass with Bart, I sat next to Bart that evening. I think he was trying to do what he thinks was best… He believes that this was the best that we could get on the pro-life side. And I’m not going to say that he was wrong, I’m just going to say that I had a different view of it.”
“And that’s where I’m going to leave it.”
He added that he did not like seeing “all these attacks on Bart Stupak, especially because he has been a leader.”
“And we need Bart Stupak to continue to be a leader on this pro-life issue, even or especially on this health care bill. If we are going to put in more strict federal funding [rules] on abortion, we in the pro-life movement, Democrats and Republicans, have to work together to get this done.
“Everyone’s going to have their opinion on who did the right thing. But in the end, we all need to come together and work together from here on out to help protect life.”
Congressman Lipinski explained that he is a pro-life Democrat because he believes there is an “important role” for government in helping people, especially in “protecting people in ways that no other institution can.”