Abortion is new front in health battle

Wall Street Journal, August 27, 2009

Anti-abortion groups are gearing up for a battle in the fall over healthcare legislation, another headache for Democrats who already face concerns about the measure's cost and reach. Most versions of the Democratic health plan would create subsidies for lower-income people to buy private health insurance. If that insurance includes coverage for abortion, as many existing private plans do, it effectively means federal taxpayers are subsidizing abortion, critics of the legislation argue. While it gets less attention than some other parts of the plan, abortion has often been raised by critics at town hall meetings during the August congressional recess.