Former vice president and current Democratic Party candidate for the presidential nomination Joe Biden released his plan to build on the Affordable Care Act-commonly called Obamacare-by adding a public option.
The idea is to separate himself from the pack of fellow Democratic candidates pushing "Medicare for All."
Biden's plan adds a government health care plan to the private insurance plans currently offered under the ACA.
There is some good and some bad in Biden's plan. We can talk about the fine points at a later time. Right now let's look at one point in particular that we believe many of our readers will consider very bad.
And that's to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which bars the use of federal funds for an abortion unless the mother's life is at risk or in cases of rape or incest.
"Vice President Biden supports repealing the Hyde Amendment because health care is a right that should not be dependent on one's zip code or income. And, the public option will cover contraception and a woman's constitutional right to choose," according to Biden's website.
That means your tax dollars would go to pay for abortions on demand for those enrolled in the public option. In our view, that's unacceptable.
Abortion is legal and whether to have the procedure is between a woman, her doctor and her conscious. But there is no obligation for taxpayers to fund that private decision. And considering the deep moral and ethical objections many have to abortion, we cannot support any effort
to force them to do so.
In other words, if you demand choice then you have the obligation to pay for that choice.
Again, Biden's plan has some good things. But repealing the Hyde Amendment is bad. It's a deal breaker for us.