Democrats explaining their stubbornness to maintain the abortion funding in the Senate health care bill have admitted that a primary motivation for doing so lies in encouraging more abortions, lest more children born put a strain on government funds, said Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) as reported by National Review Online.
“If you pass the Stupak amendment, more children will be born, and therefore it will cost us millions more. That’s one of the arguments I’ve been hearing [from Democrat leaders],” Stupak said in a phone interview published Friday. “Money is their hang-up. Is this how we now value life in America? If money is the issue — come on, we can find room in the budget. This is life we’re talking about.”
Stupak called the revelations “a pretty sad commentary on the state of the Democratic party.”
The Michigan Democrat also lamented that “enormous” political pressure from Democrat leaders has likely “peel[ed] off one or two of my twelve” – that is, the twelve pro-life Democrats who vowed with Stupak not to vote for health care reform without a ban on abortion funding.
“Even if they don’t have the votes, it’s been made clear to us that they won’t insert our language on the abortion issue,” he said.
Stupak also lamented that he was coming under pressure in the form of threats to tarnish his record with ethics complaints, should he continue to hold out against the bill.
“This has really reached an unhealthy stage,” Stupak said. “People are threatening ethics complaints on me. On the left, they’re really stepping it up. Every day, from Rachel Maddow to the Daily Kos, it keeps coming. Does it bother me? Sure. Does it change my position? No.”
A House Budget Committee is expected to begin reviewing the abortion-expanding Senate bill [today], and could vote on the measure within ten days.