CHA Engages in a Little CYA

After Sister Carol and her bunch so publicly bucked the Catholic Bishops (and accused them of lying), thus ensuring passage of a health care bill that covers abortion, this is too little, too late:

Washington D.C., Jan 27, 2011 / 06:08 am (CNA/EWTN News). - The Catholic Health Association has endorsed legislation to restrict federal funding of abortion in the health care law passed last year despite its belief that the legislation already prevents it.

In a Jan. 24 letter to Rep. Joseph R. Pitts (R-Penn.), Catholic Health Association president and CEO Sr. Carol Keehan offered support for the Protect Life Act, H.R. 358. She praised the congressman’s efforts to “ensure the protection of the unborn and of providers’ conscience rights.”

“While we continue to believe the current provisions of the Affordable Care Act prevent federal funding of abortion, your legislation will provide further protection by codifying the ‘Hyde amendment’ relative to the new health care reform law,” she wrote.

The bill would also prevent the use of federal funds to subsidize health care plans that cover abortion.

The place of abortion funding in the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was a point of major controversy. The Stupak Amendment, which would have restricted abortion funding and subsidies for abortion-providing insurance plans in the health care legislation, initially passed the House of Representatives but failed in the Senate.

When the passage of the health care bill was still in doubt, the Catholic Health Association broke from the U.S. bishops and other pro-life opponents of the bill to support the legislation.

[...]

President Obama gave Sr. Keehan a presidential pen he used to sign the final legislation.

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