Thursday, December 10, 2009

AZRTL: Sen. Boxer kills prolife amendment to healthcare bill

Arizona Right to Life
Senator Boxer Kills Pro-Life Amendment;
Healthcare Bill Must Now be Completely Defeated


In a cowardly move of political maneuvering, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) motioned last night for consideration of the Hatch-Nelson Amendment to be tabled. By a vote of 54-45, the motion passed, effectively killing the Amendment without an actual vote on the issue itself.

By Senate rules, a motion that is tabled is permanently closed for discussion and is considered irreversibly defeated. Alternately, had a vote on the Amendment itself happened and resulted in a defeat, Senate rules would have permitted additional discussion and review.

The Hatch-Nelson Amendment, like its House Sister, the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, would have prohibited the federally funded "public option" health insurance proposed in the current Healthcare bill from covering abortions, except to save the life of the mother and in cases of rape and incest. It would have also prevented the federal subsidization of the purchase of plans that cover abortion. It would not have prohibited plan participants from purchasing their own abortion services or from seeking private insurance with abortion-coverage options. It simply would have protected and expressed the opinions of 61% of Americans, who, according to a recent CNN Poll, oppose federal funding of abortion.

Arizona Right to Life condemns the actions of Senator Boxer and others to table the discussion and shirk their responsibility to address the issue directly. Arizona Right to Life applauds our Arizona Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl for their bold "nay" votes to table the Amendment. For a complete list of how each Senator voted, click here.

With the removal of this protection of voter's interests and of innocent human life, Arizona Right to Life concludes that the only remaining option is to urge a swift defeat of the entire Healthcare Bill. Supporters of the Bill may motion for cloture, to similarly close all discussion on the issue. Arizona Right to Life opposes cloture and encourages you to contact your Senators and request that they vote "no" on the Healthcare Bill and on any efforts to limit discussion on the Bill prior to a vote.

The contact information for the Arizona Senators is:

Senator John McCain
United States Senate
241 Russell Senate Ofc. Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2235
Fax: (202) 228-2862
Email Form

Senator Jon Kyl
United States Senate
730 Hart Senate Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4521
Fax: (202) 224-2207
Email Form

If you are receiving this and live in another state, you may find the contact information for your Senator by clicking here. Alternately, you may call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

Arizona Right to Life
3333 N 44th St., Ste 4
Phoenix, AZ 85018
(602) 285-0063
www.azrtl.org

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