Tag archives: Health Care

For President Obama, The Devil is in the Details

by Tony Perkins

September 12, 2009

[Script follows after the jump]

President Barack Obama spoke to the nation by way of a speech to a special Joint Session of Congress. The purpose: to resuscitate his health care takeover plan that suffered a major setback during the bruising Congressional recess. Opposition to the Presidents efforts has steadily increased as the details of the plan have been publicly examined.

In the message that sounded more like a campaign stump speech than a concrete policy explanation, the President accused critics of the government takeover of using scare tactics and spreading misinformation. But he also said this:

[President Obama clip: “…there remain some significant details to be ironed out…”]

Never has the old adage; the devil is in the details had more meaning.

The President said he wanted to clear up the misunderstanding that under his plan no federal dollars would be used to fund abortions.

Allow me to address one of the details

The healthcare bills will fund abortion unless it is explicitly excluded, and the Capps amendment explicitly included government funding of abortion. To resolve this detail the President could simply tell his Partys leaders in Congress to accept one of the nearly dozen amendments, like the Stupak-Pitts amendment that will exclude abortion funding?

The President also said that the federal conscience laws will remain in place.

Here is an important detail. The regulations that would enforce the current conscience laws were suspended by President Obama just days after he took office. To take care of this detail the President should again tell his partys leaders to accept one of the amendments, like Sen. Coburns or Rep. Stupaks which would protect the conscience rights of health care workers.

The president said his plan would not increase deficits and that reducing the waste and inefficiency in Medicare and Medicaid would pay for most of this almost $1 trillion dollar plan.

Mr. President, this really isnt a detail, it is more of a question. If there is this much waste and inefficiency in the governments present health care system, why do you need to create another government health care program to clean up the current one? Show us first, that the government can manage its money or rather our money then we can talk about creating another program that could potential takeover nearly 16% of the nations economy.

FRC Action Webcast: A National Townhall on Health Care Reform

by Krystle Gabele

September 11, 2009

Here’s the full program of last night’s FRC Action webcast:

If you are reading this in an RSS Reader, you may need to click through to the post to view.

Participants:

  • Tony Perkins, President, FRC Action

  • Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.)

  • House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio)

  • Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.)

  • Ken Blackwell, former Ohio Secretary of State

  • Doug Johnson, National Right to Life Committee

  • Bishop Harry Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church

  • Wesley J. Smith, Senior Fellow in Human Rights & Bioethics, Discovery Institute

  • Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel

  • Mark Kellen, M.D., President, Association of American Physicians and Surgeons

  • Kathryn Serkes, Association of American Physicians and Surgeons

  • Dr. David Prentice, FRC Senior Fellow for Life Sciences, FRC

  • David Christensen, Senior Director for Congressional Affairs, FRC

  • Tom McClusky, Senior Vice President, FRC Action

Resources mentioned:

Tonight: FRC Action to Host National Townhall Webcast on Health Care Reform

by Jared Bridges

September 10, 2009

Here’s the press release fro FRC Action with information on tonight’s live webcast on health care reform:

WASHINGTON, D.C.- On Thursday, September 10 at 8:30 pm ET, FRC Action, the legislative lobbying arm of Family Research Council, will host a special one hour “National Townhall on Health Care Reform” Webcast. FRC Action President Tony Perkins will be joined by Congressional leaders and policy experts to discuss the moral, ethical, and financial dangers of President Obama’s health care plan.

Webcast viewers will be able to:

* get their questions answered.

* dissect the dangers inherent in the President’s proposed plan.

* and examine the life and death implications this will have for themselves and their loved ones

Who: Tony Perkins, President, FRC Action

Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC)

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH)

Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA)

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)

Ken Blackwell, former Ohio Secretary of State

Doug Johnson, National Right to Life Committee

Cathy Ruse, Senior Fellow for Legal Studies, Family Research Council

Bishop Harry Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church

Wesley J. Smith, renowned ethicist

Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel

Dr. David Prentice, Senior Fellow for Life Sciences, Family Research Council

Tom McClusky, Senior Vice President, FRC Action

Where: www.frcaction.org/webcast

What: “National Townhall on Health Care Reform”

When: Thursday, September 10 at 8:30pm ET

Register for the webcast here.

In the Know…

by Krystle Gabele

September 4, 2009

Here’s some news articles of interest to help kick off Labor Day weekend.

Perkins on Point: Bearing False Witness on Health Care Reform?

by Tony Perkins

August 21, 2009

President Obama has accused FRC and others who are opposing the government takeover of health care of breaking the 9th commandment. Listen to this (clip).

Really Mr. President we are bearing false witness.

Mr. President this is what you said in a speech to Planned Parenthood in July of 2007. (Clip or transcript)

And your administration has made it clear that reproductive health care includes abortion (clip of Hillary)

Mr. President since you have taken to quoting scripture. Allow me to quote the words of Jesus, those Red Letters in the New Testament, where He says let your yes be yes and your no be no.

Mr. President if what you say is true, which the present House bill would suggest is not the case when it comes to government funded abortion, why not let your no be no and accept one of the dozen amendments that have been offered that make it clear that abortion will not be a part of the government healthcare plan.

Until you let your yes be yes and your no be no, Mr. President we can not have a true debate about the core ethical and moral obligation of insuring all Americans have access to affordable healthcare a discuss we look forward to having.

Daily Buzz

by Krystle Gabele

August 19, 2009

Here’s some news articles of interest for you to ponder this morning.

  • “Clinical Trials Are Testing Stem Cells as Heart Failure Treatment,” Sarah Baldauf, U.S. News & World Report (August 18, 2009)

    • “Researchers’ significant interest in using stem cells to treat heart failure arises, in part, because the disease is so prevalent. The American Heart Association estimates 5.7 million Americans live with the disease and 670,000 new cases are diagnosed annually. “When you put [stem cells] into a heart, some can differentiate to become blood vessel and others to become heart muscle cells,” explains James Willerson, president of the Texas Heart Institute in Houston and a principal investigator of a separate, National Institutes of Health-sponsored stem cell trial for heart failure. It is important, he says, that stem cells also “have substances that recruit other cells and promote life.” This combination holds incredibly powerful potential for not only rejuvenating but rebuilding organs and tissue and turning back the clock for ailing patients. Willerson is optimistic about the therapeutic future of stem cells, which can be extracted from fat cells, hair cells, and other diverse cell types. “I believe we will be able to regenerate the whole heart of a human being with stem cells,” he says.”

  • “Medical Groups Promoted HPV Vaccine Using Drug Company Money,” Rob Stein, The Washington Post (August 18, 2009)

  • “DART Driver Refused Bus With Atheist Sign,” KCCI-8 Des Moines (August 18, 2009)

    • “Des Moines Area Regional Transit confirms a driver refused to drive a bus with an atheist advertisement Monday.”

  • “Poll: Majority of Americans Understand Health Care Bills Mean Abortion Funding,” Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com (August 19, 2009)

    • “The pro-life movement has been working overtime to educate Americans about the fact that the health care bills in Congress would result in massive abortion funding. Despite a slew of mainstream media stories to the contrary, the public appears to have received the message.

    A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released yesterday shows a majority of Americans agreed that the health care bills “will likely use taxpayer dollars to pay for women to have abortions.”

    The poll found 50 percent agreed that is true while 37 percent of Americans don’t believe that is likely.”

  • “Law Requiring Ultrasounds for Abortions Is Struck Down,” Kari Lydersen, The Washington Post (August 18, 2009)

    • “An Oklahoma judge decided Tuesday that doctors do not need to perform ultrasounds and offer women detailed information about the tests before performing abortions, striking down the strictest such law in the country.”

  • “Study Using Embryonic Stem Cells Is Delayed,” Bloomberg News (August 19, 2009)

    • “The Geron Corporation said on Tuesday that regulators had held up its study of a therapy for injured spinal cords before even one patient could be enrolled, delaying the first human trial using embryonic stem cells.”

  • “Christian Law Firm Fights ‘Ridiculous’ Criminal Charges Against School Officials,” Nathan Black, The Christian Post (August 18, 2009)

Daily Buzz

by Krystle Gabele

August 14, 2009

Here’s some news articles of particular interest.

  • According to the New York Times, former President Bill Clinton defends end-of-life counseling that is included in the health care reform plan.

  • Steven Ertelt of LifeNews.com has a great article about a CDC study that shows teen abortion rates are lower in states that accept abstinence funding.

  • Cleveland is becoming a leader in adult stem cell research. Continue reading the article from The Plain Dealer.

  • David French of Phi Beta Cons reported Tuesday that the EEOC went after Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina for refusing to cover oral contraceptives in its employer provided health insurance.

  • Prisoners in the Rappahannock Regional Jail in Virginia will now be allowed to receive religious mail, after the ACLU sent a letter to officials demanding that these letters containing biblical passages be distributed, as The Christian Post reports.

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