Bernie Sanders would expand abortions if elected president.
A Democrat socialist and front runner in the Democrat presidential primary, Sanders is pushing a radical plan for American medical care that would force taxpayers to fund abortions and may force Catholic hospitals to kill unborn babies.
Sanders’ Medicare for All bill would end private health insurance completely and force everyone onto the government-run plan. As Townhall reports, it also requires coverage of “comprehensive reproductive, maternity, and newborn care,” including abortions for any reason up to birth.
Though one option provides health care to a mother and her baby and the other destroys an unborn baby’s life, both would be treated equally under the taxpayer-funded plan.
Sanders said as much in May.
“Abortion is health care,” he said. “When we pass Medicare for All, we will be guaranteeing a woman’s right to control her own body by covering comprehensive reproductive care, including abortion.”
The bill also includes language to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer-funded abortions in Medicaid.
If the radical legislation passes, it could lead to a huge expansion of abortions and the slaughter of millions more unborn babies in America. As the pro-abortion publication Mother Jones pointed out recently, “Universal coverage for abortion would go a long way toward expanding access to abortion for lower-income Americans.”
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Terence P. Jeffrey, editor in chief of CNSnews.com, expressed concerns that Sanders’ plan also may force Catholic and other religious health care providers to abort unborn babies.
He contacted Sanders’ office multiple times with questions about abortions and religious freedom under Medicaid for All, but Jeffrey said no one responded.
One of his questions was this: “Does the bill allow Catholic hospitals that refuse to perform ‘termination of pregnancy’ procedures (n.b. abortions) to be qualified providers who continue to provide health care under Sen. Sanders’s ‘Medicare-for-all’ program? If so, is there language in the bill that specifically spells out this exception for religious hospitals and what is that language?”
Jeffrey said language in Sanders’ bill prohibits discrimination based on “gender identity” and even “pregnancy termination,” but he could not find anything prohibiting religious discrimination.
Sanders’ abortion views are radical and extremely out of touch with most voters. During one of the first Democratic presidential debates, Sanders firmly supported abortion on demand by calling it a “constitutional right.”
Then, earlier this month, when asked if he believes there are pro-life Democrats, Sanders replied, “Being pro-choice is an absolutely essential part of being a Democrat,” CNS News reports.
Sanders has a long voting record in support of unlimited abortions up to birth. In January 2018, he voted against a bill to ban late-term abortions — a bill that would have saved as many as 18,000 unborn babies from abortions every year. The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would have banned abortions after 20 weeks when unborn babies are capable of feeling intense pain.
Polls consistently find strong opposition to late-term and taxpayer-funded abortions. A 2019 national poll by Marist University found that a majority of Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortions, while 39 percent support them. Similarly, a 2016 Politico/Harvard University poll found that just 36 percent of likely voters supported taxpayer funding for abortions, while 58 percent opposed it.
Another recent poll by Marist found that six in 10 Americans (62%) say that if the Supreme Court revisits Roe v. Wade it should allow states to determine restrictions (46%) or make abortion illegal (16%). Only 33% of Americans say Roe should be interpreted to allow for legal abortion any time without restriction.
