The president's Obamacare lies

You and the American people have been deceived about matters of enormous significance. You may remember that on the night of Sept. 9, 2009, President Barack Obama gave an address to a joint session of Congress, which was televised to the nation. His purpose was to urge members of the House and Senate to pass the administration's vaunted health-care bill. As he explained in his opening remarks,

… we did not come here just to clean up crises. We came to build a future. So tonight, I return to speak to all of you about an issue that is central to that future – and that is the issue of health care.

The speech was filled with promises and assurances that have proved to be shockingly false, and the president's premise was based on deception. This comment stands out:

And one more misunderstanding I want to clear up – under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place.

These two promises were specious (some would say dishonest). Long before Mr. Obama's Big Night on Capitol Hill, he told the American people during his campaign that his first act as president would be to sign the pro-abortion "Freedom of Choice Act." The Democrat-led Congress was never able to pass the legislation, but the president would have signed the pro-abortion bill if given the chance. This was, and still appears to be, his highest priority.

Mr. Obama also revealed his plan to support abortion at the federal level in a passionate speech given to participants at a Planned Parenthood Action Fund conference on July 17, 2007. He said this in response to a question about "reproductive rights" (a euphemism for abortion):

Well, look, in my mind reproductive care is essential care, basic care, so it is at the center, the heart of the plan that I propose. … But, essentially, what we are doing is to say that we're going to set up a public plan that all persons and all women can access if they don't have health insurance. … It'll be a plan that will provide all essential services, including reproductive services. … So that's going to be absolutely vital. [Applause]

By the time the president gave his address on Sept. 9, 2009, he had been on record many times assuring his pro-choice constituency that coverage for abortion would be "job one" within his health-care plan. Thus, his declaration to Congress that "no federal dollars would be spent to fund abortion"5 lacked credibility for many of the legislators, and, I'm sure, for millions of Americans who were watching. I was one of them. I knew from deep within my soul that the president was not being truthful about this matter of life and death.

Another person who was upset by the president's disingenuous remarks was Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., who was in the chamber the night of the speech. He was so outraged by what he was hearing that he blurted out, "You lie!"

It isn't unusual for members of Congress to boo or hiss during a president's speech, but this outburst was unprecedented. Rep. Wilson paid a dear price for his shout-out. He was vilified and ridiculed by the media in the days that followed, and Democrats were outraged. Wilson also became the butt of jokes by late-night comedians on television. Even the leaders of Wilson's own party were embarrassed and forced him to issue a humiliating apology to the president and to his congressional colleagues, which he promptly did.

I'll leave it to you to decide whether or not Wilson's challenge to the president was appropriate. But now, more than two and a half years later, we must ask: Was Obama lying about abortion not being in his health care plan?

The first indication that we had not been told the truth came in March 2010. Steven Ertelt, editor of LifeNews, filed this report:

The Obama administration has officially approved the first instance of taxpayer-funded abortions under the new national government-run health-care program. This is the kind of abortion funding the pro-life movement warned about when Congress considered the bill.

The Obama administration will give Pennsylvania $160 million to set up a new "high-risk" insurance program under a provision of the federal health-care legislation enacted in March.

It has quietly approved a plan submitted by an appointee of pro-abortion Gov. Edward Rendell under which the new program will cover any abortion that is legal in Pennsylvania.

The high-risk pool program is one of the new programs created by the sweeping health-care legislation, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, President Obama signed into law on March 23. The law authorizes $5 billion in federal funds for the program, which will cover as many as 400,000 people when it is implemented nationwide.

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"The Obama Administration will give Pennsylvania $160 million in federal tax funds, which we've discovered will pay for insurance plans that cover any legal abortion," said Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee.

Johnson told LifeNews.com: "This is just the first proof of the phoniness of President Obama's assurances that federal funds would not subsidize abortion – but it will not be the last."

A mere six months after the president's solemn promise to Congress, he endorsed a federal abortion plan for the people of Pennsylvania in preparation for a $5 billion national rollout. It was done quietly, and of course, the media were silent about it. There was no cultural "echo" among conservatives, Christian leaders, or politicians. The Big Promise of Sept. 9 had already been abandoned.

Further evidence Mr. Obama never intended to keep his word is revealed in the language of the health-care bill. He opposed putting language in the bill preventing federal subsidies for abortion. This was his plan all along, and pro-life advocates were kept in the dark.

Well, the plan that was hatched in secrecy in 2010 came to fruition early this year when Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sibelius announced an expansion of Section 1303 of the Obamacare law. Her ruling requires many millions of Americans to pay a minimum surcharge for abortion services, whether or not they receive or want them. The amount to be remitted will be a minimum of $12 per year, but could be much more. You can be sure that the surcharge will also grow in time. The president had parsed his words very carefully in 2009 when he said funding for abortion would not come from the federal government. Clearly it won't. It will be compelled by the federal government to come from YOU.

Here is a summary of the new regulation: When an insurance company provides coverage for abortion, it MUST charge all employees an amount sufficient to cover the costs of abortion services, even by those who are horrified at the thought. No one can opt out of the provision. That is now written into the law.

Additionally, as you probably know, HHS announced recently that businesses and non-profit organizations, including churches and Christian nonprofit institutions, will have to provide free contraceptives with health insurance. It must also pay for medications that kill babies, known as abortifacients.

When Catholic and evangelical church leaders objected strenuously to this assault on religious liberty, the president simply announced an "accommodation," requiring insurance companies to pay for the contraceptives. Of course, they will pass the expense along to their customers, and employees will all be in the abortion business.

It gets worse. It was announced a few weeks ago that colleges and universities, including Christian institutions, must provide free contraceptives that kill babies (abortifacients). Get this! Companies may only disclose this provision at the time of purchase, and they may only advertise the total rate with the abortion surcharge, which will make it almost impossible for pro-life groups or individuals to find out about the abortion surcharge until it is too late. The truth is shielded by a "gag rule." The deck is stacked thanks to the duplicity of our chief executive.

This brings us to another falsehood spoken by the president Sept. 9, 2009. Let me quote his words again (see emboldened words):

And one more misunderstanding I want to clear up – under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place.

This second sentence contains another big lie. The president never intended to protect the conscience clause. Indeed, on Feb. 18, 2011, he canceled President Bush's executive order guaranteeing doctors, nurses and other health professionals would not have to violate their beliefs.

So, Joe Wilson was right. Obama lied to Congress to get them to approve the health-care bill! Abortion is an integral part of Obamacare, and babies will die because of it. Citizens never had an opportunity to be heard on the matter. The abortion component of the health-care bill will go into effect in January 2013. After that date, you could be forced unwittingly to support the killing of babies.

I am deeply saddened by the assault on religious liberty that is occurring, and by the promises the administration has broken. I want to be very careful regarding what I am about to write now. It will not be said flippantly or with malice, but it will reflect the passion of my heart.

I believe in the rule of law, and it has been my practice since I was in college to respect and honor those in authority over us. It is my desire to do so now. However, this assault on the sanctity of human life takes me where I cannot go. I WILL NOT pay the surcharge for abortion services. The amount of the surcharge is irrelevant. To pay one cent for the killing of babies is egregious to me, and I will do all I can to correct a government that lies to me about its intentions and then tries to coerce my acquiescence with extortion. It would be a violation of my most deeply held convictions to disobey what I consider to be the principles in Scripture. The Creator will not hold us guiltless if we turn a deaf ear to the cries of His innocent babies. So come and get me if you must, Mr. President. I will not bow before your wicked regulation.

As our nation awaits the announcement this month of the U. S. Supreme Court's momentous decision regarding key aspects of Obamacare, there is another action we can take right now. The Manhattan Declaration, which my wife, Shirley, and I have signed, gives us counsel at this point. It ends with the following affirmation:

Because we honor justice and the common good, we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family. We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar's. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God's.

If you agree with this Declaration and are willing to stand against that which is clearly evil, I ask you to sign the Manhattan Declaration.

Thank you, Rep. Wilson, for recognizing deception in high places and for having the courage to call it by its name. A lie by the president of the United States of America is still a lie!