Abortion and the Baucus health care bill

The National Right to Life Committee has made a series of claims on the health care plan from Finance Chairman Max Baucus, which he says seeks to maintain the status quo on the sensitive issue of abortion. Politifact.org examines two of the Committee's central claims, which sound similar but actually are quite distinct:

1. "Under the Baucus bill...federal funds would subsidize coverage of elective abortions." -- This claim is FALSE. People who choose plans that cover abortion would have to pay the added cost of such coverage. Those are not tax dollars.
2. The Baucus bill "contains provisions that would send massive federal subsidies directly to both private insurance plans and government-chartered cooperatives that pay for elective abortion." -- This claim is TRUE. If millions of uninsured people would now get insurance due to the health care plan, and some of the plans offer abortion insurance, it's safe to conclude the Baucus plan would mean more women would have access to abortion services.

So in short, under the Baucus health care bill, while the federal government would provide subsidies to health care plans that offer abortion, tax dollars would not be used to subsidize elective abortion services.

To get the entire story from PolitiFact.org, click here.