Abortion Restrictions In House Bill Show Power Of Organized Religion In Politics

The Catholic Church successfully helped deliver a crushing blow to the abortion rights movement on Saturday by insisting that abortion restrictions be inserted into the newly passed House health care bill. But this isn't the first time that a religious organization has used its power, money, and influence to merge dogma with public policy.

Last Saturday, Democrats in the House of Representatives celebrated the passage of a health care reform bill that sought to finally provide coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. But the victory was bittersweet for many on the left because of a last-minute amendment offered by Democratic Rep. Bart Stupack that blocks those who receive federal health care subsidies or sign up for the public option from receiving any coverage for elective abortions.  Advocates on both sides are calling the amendment the biggest turning point in the abortion debate in decades.

However, a study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute found that in 2003 only 13 percent of abortions in the US were provided under health insurance and, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, only about half of those who have employer-based insurance have abortion coverage.

Five states, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, North Dakota, and Oklahoma, already bar private insurance from coving elective abortions; the federal employees’ health insurance program and most Medicaid programs do the same.

Therefore, the effect of the Stupack amendment on access to abortions would probably be minimal. However, the precedent that the amendment sets could prove disastrous for the pro-choice movement. If abortion rights are seen as a commodity to be traded away to secure the votes of conservative Democrats, abortion-rights activists could see their agenda eroded as a divided legislative body attempts to reach compromise.

Moreover, the success of the Stupack amendment underlines a disturbing trend—the influence powerful religious organizations exert over members of congress and even the President himself.

Advocates on both sides of the issue are largely crediting the Catholic Church with strong-arming the Stupack amendment into the House bill.

Starting in the summer, Catholic bishops began a letter writing campaign threatening to pull support for any health care bill that allowed federal dollars to directly or indirectly be spent on elective abortions.

On Oct. 8 three members of the bishops conference issued the following warning: “If the final legislation does not meet our principles, we will have no choice but to oppose the bill.”

And Cardinal Seán O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, reportedly delivered a warning directly to President Obama telling him that the Catholic Church would only support the health care bill if it contained restrictions on abortion.

For years the Catholic Church has advocated for universal health care and has been an ally of the Democratic Party on this issue; loss of their support would be a major blow for health care reform.

But the Catholic Church isn’t the only religious organization in recent years that has used its position of power to force dogma into public policy.