“Abortion Groups Caught Off Guard”

The title of this article by Sarah Kliff published at POLITICO.com says it all. When National Right to Life blew the whistle on high-risk insurance plans funded by Obamacare money that paid for abortions, Kliff says “Abortion rights advocates were caught completely off-guard.”

The article quotes several mouthpieces from pro-abortion groups. “‘This is not the outcome we expected,’ said Laurie Rubiner, Planned Parenthood vice president for public policy. ‘We’re stuck in a slow back-pedal,’ said Laura MacCleery, government relations director for the Center for Reproductive Rights. There needs to be a sense that, while health reform moves us forward, it moves us backwards in terms of reproductive rights.'”

In the article the groups lament that with a supportive President and Congress, it is difficult to motivate their followers. Fundraising has dipped and they are having trouble getting people excited about the 2010 elections.

The biggest stab in the back: “All the reproductive health groups that POLITICO spoke with said they were not consulted on the decision to bar elective abortion coverage in the high-risk pools.” Abortion activists are frustrated. And, that’s just fine with us.

Read full article here.

Barbara Lyons