Anti-Abortion Advocate to Meet with WH Officials
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(Washington) White House officials are meeting with an anti-abortion advocate Thursday afternoon to discuss concern over abortion coverage in health care reform proposals.
Dr. Charmaine Yoest, President and CEO of Americans United for Life Action (AUL), wrote an open letter to the President in July requesting the meeting.
The White House accepted the request and this afternoon Yoest will meet with Domestic Policy Advisor Melody Barnes, Joshua DuBois, Director of Faith Based & Neighborhood Partnerships and Tina Tchen, Director for Public Liaison.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We plan to take the message to the White House that real health care respects life," says Dr. Yoest in advance of the meeting, "[the abortion lobby's] ultimate objective is to define abortion as basic health care which Americans do not support."
In his address to Congress last week, President Obama took the controversy over abortion funding in health care reform head on. "And one more misunderstanding I want to clear up," he said, "-- under our plan, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions, and federal conscience laws will remain in place."
But AUL believes that unless abortion coverage is explicitly excluded from any legislation, the courts will mandate it. The group is equally concerned about the latest health care reform proposal -- a plan submitted Wednesday by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus – as it is over the House proposals because the Baucus plan "incorporates similar language to Capp's amendment to H.R. 3200, which does not explicitly exclude abortion coverage and funding...", AUL said in a statement.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dr. Yoest also plans to bring up conscience protection and end of life issues at the White House meeting. She is a former senior advisor to the 2008 Huckabee for President campaign.