Reps. Scalise, Walden: The truth about ‘Medicare for all’ – Plan would make you pay for abortions

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Democrats hold first hearing on Medicare for all roll out

Fox News medical contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier breaks down the health care legislation.

Single-payer. Government-run. Government takeover. One-size-fits-all. Socialist. Each is an accurate description of Democrats’ preferred health-care scheme, proposed in the mislabeled “Medicare-for-All Act.”

The more Americans learn, the further support sinks for their centralized government health-care system. It will bring delays in access to needed health care. The $32 trillion price tag is so massive it’s hard to wrap your head around. More than 158 million people get kicked off their employer or union sponsored health care. No wonder Americans are alarmed. We need to cut health-care costs, not completely demolish our health-care system.

Yet leading Democrats in Congress and on the 2020 presidential campaign trail continue to champion it.

BERNIE SANDERS' 'MEDICARE-FOR-ALL' PLAN INCLUDES HEALTH CARE FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

There is another deeply disturbing truth Americans need to know about their plan: it would mandate taxpayer funded abortions on demand andforce health professionals to perform these abortions.

This is radical and unprecedented.

Democrats are actively trying to reverse a 40-year, bipartisan protection against federal taxpayer funded abortions. They’d also force doctors andnurses to terminate a baby’s life.

The life vs. choice debate has raged for decades, from court rooms to hearing rooms and classrooms to kitchen tables. While Americans have debated the issue of life, we’ve had an enduring agreement that taxpayer dollars should not be used to perform or subsidize abortion.

The debate over health-care solutions is hard, but worthy of our best, because the choices we make now will impact the lives millions of Americans.

So, does “Medicare-for-all” actually mandate abortion coverage?

Yes, and the authors of the bill confirmed abortion is covered. The benefits are specifically listed: "comprehensive reproductive, maternity, and newborn care." Comprehensive reproductive care is included, meaning this plan — which is free — covers abortions. This means abortion-on-demand, funded by taxpayers.

The 108 Democrats who sponsored the legislation did not stop there — they also declared the 40-year bipartisan safeguard invalid: "Any other provision of law in effect on the date of enactment of this Act restricting the use of federal funds for any reproductive health service shall not apply to monies in the Trust Fund."

The safeguard, known as the Hyde Amendment, was a huge pro-life victory enacted in 1976 — stating taxpayer money cannot be used to pay for elective abortions. The Hyde Amendment is not controversial. Since 1976, there have been a total of 4,072 House Democratic votes in favor of the bills funding the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that included the Hyde Amendment. What’s changed?

Now, would medical professionals be forced to perform abortions?

Yes, health-care professionals currently enjoy conscience protections, but the misleadingly named “Medicare-for-all” would almost certainly eliminate those rights. The bill states, “Items and services to eligible persons shall be furnished by the provider without discrimination.” We believe this language — especially “without discrimination” —makes it clear, doctors and nurses would be forced to perform procedures — even if they are morally opposed.

This is the Democratic Party: command and control government. Commanding Americans to pay for abortions — the government coercing health-care providers to perform abortions — it is hard to believe. But, we’ve seen it up close, at the Energy and Commerce Committee and on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

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At Energy and Commerce, Democrats recently made a broadly popular health-care proposal toxic by departing from the nearly half-century consensus that taxpayers shouldn’t foot the bill for abortions. And, in what has become nearly a daily occurrence, House Republicans will ask Democrats to provide medical care to babies who survive abortions. Democrats will refuse; they’ve now done this radical dance with death over 40 times this year.

The debate over health-care solutions is hard, but worthy of our best, because the choices we make now will impact the lives millions of Americans. That is why this is so important; why we must hold the line and defend life. Life is precious and we are committed to defending it.