By William McGurn - WSJ
Congressman Stupaks vote for health bill shows that in end you cant count on prolife Democrats.
And then there were none.
When Bart Stupak announced Sunday he was now a yes on the health-care bill six Democrats stood with him. Even that handful would have been enough to defeat the bill. Instead they accepted the fig leaf of an executive orderand threw away all the hard-won gains they had made.
Amid the recriminations its easy to overlook what Mr. Stupak had cobbled together. His amendment restricting federal funding for abortions passed in November marked the only bipartisan vote in this whole health-care mess. For the first time since Roe v. Wade pro-life Democrats had seized the legislative initiative in the teeth of their leaderships oppositionand brought the party of abortion to heel.
Now Mr. Stupak has thrown it away. By caving at the last hour he discredited all who stood with him. (What does it say about Ohios Marcy Kaptur and Pennsylvanias Chris Carney that they had already agreed to vote yes even before the fig leaf of the executive order had come through?) In addition to undermining an encouraging partnership with pro-lifers across the congressional aisle Mr. Stupak signaled that in the end you cant count on pro-life Democrats.
The peer pressure to be part of the team can be overwhelming says Chris Smith a pro-life GOP congressman from New Jersey. But sometimes its absolutely necessary regardless of the cost to bend into the wind unmovable committed to what your heart mind and conscience know to be right.
For so long Bart did that. Then he was like a runner who stopped a hundred feet before the finish line. Its a sad day for the unborn a sad day for their mothers and a serious setback for the culture of life.
Kristen Day of Democrats for Life doesnt see it that way. Her official statement applauds the executive order. In a phone conversation she tells me that at this point in time the pro-life voice in the Democratic Party is the strongest Ive ever seen it. She goes on to suggest that now is a pivotal momentbecause if the pro-life movement punishes Mr. Stupak and Co. at the polls the pro-life voice in the Democratic Party will be diluted.
Shes right about that last bit: If the Stupak crew goes down they will probably be replaced by pro-life Republicans or pro-choice Democrats. Either way it means fewer pro-life Democrats. On the other hand many who cheered Mr. Stupak will say the pivotal moment came Sundayand he chose liberalism over life.
Even more troubling for Ms. Day is that few accept the idea that the executive order really adds anything. In fact on this point National Right to Life the Catholic bishops and the Susan B. Anthony List are largely on the same page as Planned Parenthood. As are the pro-life Republican leader Mr. Smith and the pro-choice Democrat Diana DeGette of Colorado.
Planned Parenthood calls it a symbolic gesture and says it is critically important to note that it does not include the Stupak abortion ban. Rep. DeGette who screamed so loudly when the Stupak amendment passed said she had no problem with the executive order because it doesnt change anything. Shes right because an executive order cannot change the law.
Take the $7 billion in new federal funding for the community health centers. As my former White House colleague Yuval Levin points out all that has to happen for these federal dollars to start flowing for abortion is for NARAL Pro-Choice America to sponsor a woman demanding an abortion. The center will initially deny funding citing the executive order. The woman will then sue arguing that abortion is a part of health care. Given the legal precedents and the lack of a specific ban in the actual legislation the courts will likely agree.
That is part of what makes the consequences of Mr. Stupaks surrender so far reaching. Not only has he opened the door to this kind of mischief he has encouraged those who want to get rid of the Hyde amendment itself which for decades has prevented federal funds from paying for abortions. Because his leadership and collapse were both so high-profile moreover he left fellow pro-lifer Illinois Rep. Dan Lipinski (who stood firm) out in the cold and made nearly invisible the pro-life House Democrats such as Mississippi Rep. Gene Taylor who voted for the Stupak amendment and against the bill both times.
In signing on to this sham order the Stupak people signed their death warrant as a force within their party. In an America where a majority now describe themselves as pro-life they have put legislative accommodations on abortion further out of reach. At least in the near future they have ensured the Democrats will become even more uniformly pro-choice and our national debate more polarized.
And thats a tragedy for our politics as well as for our principles.
Write to
MainStreet@wsj.com.
