After supposedly pro-life Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) announced he had reached an abortion compromise with President Barack Obama and, as a result, would cast a “yes” vote in favor of the Senate health care bill today in the House, Americans on both sides of the political aisle are waiting to see where the president’s loyalties lie.
Eagle Forum Founder and President Phyllis Schlafly expressed skepticism about the deal:
Phyllis Schlafly
“It is naive for any elected official, especially one who describes himself as ‘pro-life,’ to expect that a promise to issue an Executive Order that reasserts the intentions of the Hyde Amendment will be fulfilled by the most pro-abortion president to ever sit in the White House. Perhaps Mr. Stupak and his fellow pro-life Democrats forget that President Obama’s first Executive Order was the repeal of the Mexico City Policy to allow for international funding of abortion.”
Meanwhile, NOW President Terry O’Neill issued the following statement on her ultra-liberal group’s web site:
Terry O'Neill
“President Obama campaigned as a pro-choice president, but his actions today suggest that his commitment to reproductive health care is shaky at best. Contrary to language in the draft of the executive order and repeated assertions in the news, the Hyde Amendment is not settled law — it is an illegitimate tack-on to an annual must-pass appropriations bill. NOW has a longstanding objection to Hyde and, in fact, was looking forward to working with this president and Congress to bring an end to these restrictions. We see now that we have our work cut out for us far beyond what we ever anticipated. The message we have received today is that it is acceptable to negotiate health care on the backs of women, and we couldn’t disagree more.”
Obviously, both women — and I use that term loosely in O’Neill’s case — remember then-Senator Obama telling so many audiences on the campaign trail (see video below) he would make federal funding of abortion as part of health care reform if he became president.
So where do President Obama’s loyalties lie? Will he stick to the pledge he made to Congressman Stupak or remain loyal to liberals like O’Neill and others of her ilk? If I was a betting man, I’d say Schlafly’s prediction will come true.
