This is a letter from the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) to members of the U.S. House of Representatives on the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (ANDA) (H.R. 4691). This bill will be on the House floor on Wednesday, Sept. 25.

Dear Member of Congress:

We are writing to reiterate the strong support of the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) for the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (ANDA), H.R. 4691, which the House will debate on Wednesday (Sept. 25).

Increasingly in recent years, pro-abortion groups have been actively engaged in a concerted campaign to coerce hospitals and other health care providers, both religiously affiliated and secular, to provide, facilitate, or pay for abortions. Typical of these efforts is the "Hospital Provider Project" of the Maryland affiliate of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL). As that organization explained, "The goal of the Hospital Provider Project is to increase access to abortion services by REQUIRING Maryland hospitals to provide abortion . . ." (capitals added for emphasis)

It appears that some organizations that call themselves "pro-choice" are now reluctant to openly defend their coercive campaigns, because in recent days they have marshaled a phalanx of red herrings against H.R. 4691. For example, they have claimed that the bill would impede state governments from providing abortions to Medicaid clients in the three circumstances for which federal Medicaid reimbursement is available (rape, incest, life of mother). It is true that federal law has been construed to require states to provide Medicaid abortions in those three cases, but the law does not require a state to coerce a particular private health care provider to provide the abortions. Indeed, federal Medicaid law explicitly provides for specific providers to opt out of even counseling and referral requirements on moral or religious grounds, and also provides for state notification of clients regarding covered services that a specific provider does not provide. 42 USC Sect. 1396u-2(b)(3) and (a)(5)(d). Both under current law and under the bill, the state may make arrangements for Medicaid-reimburseable abortions (whether under the three federally covered circumstances, or under broader circumstances funded by a state) to be provided by willing providers. Under the bill, however, a state may not exclude an HMO or other provider from the entire Medicaid program merely because it declines to provide abortions.

Opponents of H.R. 4691 have also vaguely suggested that the bill would somehow provide a new tool for pro-life governors or state regulators. However, nothing in H.R. 4691 empowers a state or local government to restrict any provider from providing any abortion-related service voluntarily. Rather, the bill would act purely as a shield against government coercion to participate in abortion.

Opponents of H.R. 4691 have also claimed that the bill might impede distribution of various birth-control drugs, such as those classified by the FDA as "postcoital emergency contraceptives." These claims are false. On its face, H.R. 4691 applies only to "induced abortions." The term "abortion" has appeared in numerous federal laws (such as the Title X authorizing statute and the Hyde Amendment); the term has been consistently construed in federal law to apply to deliberate interruption of pregnancy after implantation. Therefore, the bill covers abortions whether induced by surgical means or by abortion-induced drugs such as RU-486, but it does not cover "morning-after pills," whether with respect to victims of rape or otherwise.

NRLC intends to include the roll calls on the motion to recommit and on final passage of H.R. 4691 in its scorecard of key pro-life votes of 2002. The roll call on the Rule may also be included if opponents choose to contest the Rule.

Sincerely,

Douglas Johnson
NRLC Legislative Director
(202) 626-8820
www.nrlc.org

The National Right to Life Committee is the nation's major pro-life organization, representing affiliates in all 50 states.

VSHL is the Virginia affiliate of the National Right to Life Committee.