Pro-life groups shut out of today’s White House Health Care Summit
From CBN’s David Brody:
The White House is holding their big Health Care Summit in an attempt to begin the conversation about how to reform the healthcare system with the goal of bringing America some sort of universal health care system. There’s just one problem. Where are the pro-life leaning medical groups who may have a thing or two to say about reforming healthcare in this country?…
I do see Planned Parenthood on the list. The Human Rights Campaign is on the list. National Council of La Raza is there. The Children’s Defense Fund is there. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is there. The National Partnership for Women and Families is on the list. Shall I go on? You get the idea….
[See list of invited participants on page 2.]
The Obama administration wants this public debate over healthcare to be an honest dialogue in an attempt to come up with real solutions. Great idea….
But folks, if the Obama White House is interested in hearing diverse opinions across a broad spectrum, why not reach out to these well established pro-life leaning medical groups and make it more balanced. One pro-life group?…
[W]hen you talk healthcare “reproductive care” is an integral part of the conversation. That means topics like abortion and contraception are part of the discussion. You don’t think there will be a big controversy if President Obama’s healthcare plan covers abortions?…
President Obama said today that in the health care discussion, he wanted every voice heard, every idea considered, and every option on the table. But are we really getting every voice, idea, and option from participants at the forum?
[Photo of Obama opening the Healthcare Summit courtesy of the Chicago Tribune]
AARP, Bill Novelli, President
ADAPT, Bobby Coward
AFL-CIO, Gerry Shea, Assistant to the President for Governmental Affairs
AFSCME, Gerry McEntee, President
AFT, Randy Weingarten, President
AIDS Action Rebecca Haag President and CEO
Alliance for Retired Americans, Ed Coyle, Executive Director
America’s Health Insurance Plans, Karen Ignani, President and CEO
American Cancer Society, Daniel Smith, President
American College of Physicians, Jeff Harris, President
American Academy of Pediatrics, David Tayloe, President
American College of Cardiology, W. Douglas Weaver, President
American Academy of Family Physicians, Ted Epperly, President
American Diabetes Association, Larry Hausner, CEO
American Heart Association, Timothy J. Gardner, President
American Hospital Association, Rich Umbdenstock, President
American Medical Association, Nancy Nielsen, President
American Nurses Association, Rebecca Patton, President
Asian and Pacific Islander Health Forum, Dr. Ho Tran, Executive Director
Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations, Jeff Caballero, Executive Director
Building and Construction Trades Department, Mark Ayers, President
Better Health Care Together, Jody Hoffman, Executive Director
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Scott Serota, CEO
Campaign for America’s Future, Roger Hickey, Founder and Co-Director
Campaign for Mental Health Reform, William Emmett, Director
Catholic Health Association, Sister Carol Keehan, President and CEO
CCD Health Task Force, Peter Thomas
CED, Charlie Kolb, CEO
Center for American Progress, John Podesta, President and CEO
Change to Win, Anna Burger, Chair
Children’s Defense Fund, Marian Wright Edelman, Founding President
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Irwin E. Redlener, M.D.
Communications Workers of America, Larry Cohen, President
Families USA, Ron Pollack, President
Federation of American Hospitals, Chip Kahn, President
General Mills, Ken Powell, President and CEO
Health Care for America Now, Richard Kirsch, National Campaign Manager
Hispanic Medical Association, Elena Rios, President
Human Rights Campaign, Joe Solmonese, President
Jennings Policy Strategies Group, Inc, Chris Jennings, President
League of United Latin American Citizens, Brent Wilkes, Executive Director
Markle Foundation, Zoe Baird, President
National Association of Counties, Valerie Brown, Incoming NACO Chair
National Association of Manufacturers, John Engler, President and CEO
National Association of People with AIDS, Frank Oldham, President and CEO
National Association of Community Health Centers, Tom Van Coverden, President and CEO
National Council of La Raza, Janet Murguia, President and CEO
National Jewish Hospital, Dr. Michael Salem, President
National Congress of American Indians, Jacqueline L. Johnson Pata, Executive Director
National Federation of Independent Businesses, Dan Danner, President
National Indian Health Board, Stacey Bohlen, Executive Director
National Medical Association, Mohammad Akhter, Executive Director
National Partnership for Women and Families, Debra Ness, President
National Business Group on Health, Helen Darling, President
National Association of Children’s Hospitals, Larry McAndrews, President and CEO
National Association of Public Hospitals, Larry Gage, President
National Rural Health Association, Dennis Berens, President
National Coalition on Health Care, Henry Simmons, Founder
National Association for Home Care & Hospice, Val Halamandaris, President
National Women’s Law Center, Marcia Greenberger, President
National Minority AIDS Council, Paul Kawata, President
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Rea Carey, President
National Hispanic Health Alliance, Dr. Jane Delgado, President
National Education Association, Dennis Van Roekel, President
Pfizer, Jeffrey Kindler, CEO
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), Billy Tauzin, President and CEO
Physicians for a National Health Plan, Dr. Oliver Fein, Director
PICO, Scott Hersey Reed, Executive Director
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Cecile Richards, President
Racial and Ethnic Disparities Health Coalition, Fredette West, President
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, President and CEO
SEIU, Dennis Rivera, Chair
SEIU, Andy Stern, President
Small Business Majority, John Arensmeyer, Founder and CEO
Teamsters, Jim Hoffa, President
Trust for America’s Health, Jeff Levi, Executive Director
UAW, Ronald Gettelfinger, President
UFCW, Joe Hansen, President
University of Chicago Medical School, Eric Whitaker, Executive Vice President For Strategic Affiliations
University of Miami, Donna Shalala, President
USW, Leo Gerard, President
US Chamber, Tom Donohue, President
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
Obama is no president, he’s a tyrant.
And this country has a history of properly dealing with tyrants.
Transparency? What transparency??
The summit is for folks who are interested in expanding health care access, not restricting it.
abortion and contraception are NOT health care. And the pro life groups may be concerned about elderly patients that are vulnerable to being euthanized or not treated for cancers or other diseases, like that woman in Oregon. They would pay for assisted suicide, but not the cancer drug she needed.
Chilling opening lines
Gary Bauer and Daniel Allott have coauthored an op ed piece in today’s Washington Times that a Tweeter titled better than the WT: “26 Years of Pro-life Policies Undermined in 44 Days Under Obama’s Leadership.” A philosophical shift has taken…
I saw a great bumper sticker the other day:
Murder is not healthcare.
Pretty much sums it up. Yes, abortion isn’t illegal blah blah blah, but let’s be honest here folks. We’re killing human beings and calling it healthcare. That’s pretty demented.
Oh, and one other thing Reality, I doubt the medicare/medicaid recepiants who are losing healthcare services would appreciate you calling these meaasure an “expansion” of healthcare.
Unless I missed something, the only Catholic health care rep is obama fan Sister Carol. God help us.
we’re screwed…
Reality, how about giving people REAL HEALTH CARE?
It’s all geared to give the far Left total control of the health care delivery system in America. So if you want to give birth to your child with Down syndrome, screw you! If you want perinatal hospice for your child with Trisomy 18, screw you! If you want treatment for your hyperemesis gravidarum, screw you! If you want nutrition and hydration for your loved one with a serious brain injury, screw you!
This is a concerted “F— off and die” message to anybody who’s not entrenched in the culture of death. We recognize it when we see it.
Ironically, AP’s headline for this was “Obama: Every voice must be heard on health reform.”
Every voice but pro-lifers…and I bet disability rights advocates, too. We’re cut from the same cloth.
Jacque, it looks like ADAPT helps disabled persons to live at home instead of in nursing homes, but I’m not sure if they have any advocacy outside of that.
Sic semper tyrannis, right, HisMan?
Things didn’t end well for Booth.
I’ll just go line by line and explain what all of these acronyms stand for. It should be interesting. If it’s obvious I’ll put SE. (I found one pro-life organization, the Catholic Health Assn. Of course, with 1200 hospitals, so it would have been strikingly absurd to not invite them.)
AARP- American Ass. of Retired People.
ADAPT-ACCESSIBLE, AFFORDABLE, INTEGRATED HOUSING
ACCESS ACROSS AMERICA
AFL-CIO- American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations,
AFSCME- American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (Largest public employee and health care workers union in the United States.)
AFT- American Federation of Teachers
AIDS Action- self explanitory (SE)
Alliance for Retired Americans- SE
America’s Health Insurance Plans- SE
American Cancer Society, SE
American College of Physicians,SE
American Academy of Pediatrics, SE
American College of Cardiology,SE
American Academy of Family Physicians, SE
American Diabetes Association, SE
American Heart Association, SE
American Hospital Association,SE
American Medical Association,SE
American Nurses Association, SE
Asian and Pacific Islander Health Forum,SE
Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations, SE
Building and Construction Trades Department, SE
Better Health Care Together, SE
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, SE
Campaign for America’s Future, “News, analysis, action alerts, and resources for progressives on issues such as education, economics, and energy”
Campaign for Mental Health Reform, SE
Catholic Health Association, PROLIFE!!!!” Our ministry is rooted in a commitment to promote and defend human dignity; this is the foundation of its concern to respect the sacredness of every human life from the moment of conception until death.” Our commitment to the inherent dignity of all persons calls us to advocate laws and policies that protect our religious and moral tenets.”
CCD Health Task Force, The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities
CED, “CED is an independent, nonpartisan organization of senior corporate executives and university leaders dedicated to policy research on the major economic and social issues of our time and the implementation of its recommendations by the public and private sectors. ”
Center for American Progress, -a liberal political policy research and advocacy organization
Change to Win-Seven unions and six million workers united
Children’s Defense Fund- Universal children’s healtcare proponants.
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, SE
Communications Workers of America, SE
Families USA-“Families USA is a national nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the achievement of high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans”
Federation of American Hospitals,SE
General Mills, SE
Health Care for America Now,”We’re offering a bold new solution that gives you real choice and a guarantee of quality coverage you can afford: keep your current private insurance plan, pick a new private insurance plan, or join a public health insurance plan.
We’re also calling for regulation on health insurance companies.”
Hispanic Medical Association SE
Human Rights Campaign-the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender lobbying group and political action committee in the United States
Jennings Policy Strategies Group, Inc-is a health policy and advocacy consulting firm
League of United Latin American Citizens- SE
Markle Foundation, The Markle Foundation works to realize the full potential of information technology to address critical public needs, particularly in the areas of health care and national security.
National Association of Counties, SE
National Association of Manufacturers, SE
National Association of People with AIDS-SE
National Association of Community Health Centers-SE
National Council of La Raza-Private, non-profit, and non-partisan organization focused on reducing poverty and discrimination, and improving opportunities, for Hispanic Americans.
National Jewish Hospital, SE
National Congress of American Indians SE
National Federation of Independent Businesses, SE
National Indian Health Board, SE
National Medical Association, SE
National Partnership for Women and Families-“pro-choice”
National Business Group on Health, SE
National Association of Children’s Hospitals-SE
National Association of Public Hospitals SE
National Rural Health Association, SE
National Coalition on Health Care,Claims ” non-profit and rigorously non-partisan”
National Association for Home Care & Hospice SE
National Women’s Law Center “For more than three decades, the Center has worked to preserve women’s right to make their own reproductive choices”
National Minority AIDS Council, SE
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, SE
National Hispanic Health Alliance,SE
National Education Association, SE
Pfizer, SE
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA),SE
Physicians for a National Health Plan SE
PICO, Community organizer.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, More than deceptive with the name, but we all know them well…
Racial and Ethnic Disparities Health Coalition, SE
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, “largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care”
SEIU, The Service Employees International Union
Small Business Majority, SE
Teamsters, UNION! Oliver used to be a Teamster. lol.
Trust for America’s Health, SE
UAW, United Auto Workers
UFCW, Union
University of Chicago Medical School, SE
University of Miami, SE
USW, United Steelworkers
US Chamber,SE
Erin:
Why is your mindset always on death?
I’m talking about kicking the mad spender, anti-capitalist, communist, leftist out of office in 4 years,
Gee, just what were you thinking of, ma belle?
Oh this too Erin.
Please do not confuse in any way shape or form Lincoln with Obama. That would actaully be blasphemous to equate the two.
You see, Lincoln was not a tyrant, but a fundametalist Christian who stood against slvery, the abominable evil of his time. I am sure Lincoln would have been pro-life if he were alive today.
I should feel sorry for you.
Please, don’t fight. Yes, it is true that comparing Barack Obama to Abraham Lincoln is like comparing a bag of tea to orange juice pulp (if you can forgive the ridiculously random analogy there) but don’t get too discouraged. Human rights take time. Women did not win the right to vote overnight. Africans were not granted their rights for hundreds of years. Native Americans faced persecutions for so long that sometimes the exact number of years is lost on me. Eventually rights must go to all. The main difference between Barack Obama, albeit, don’t get me wrong, Barack Obama seems like a semi-nice man (to the born) he advocates the ownership of another human being. Just because propaganda has placed slavery as healthcare doesn’t mean that it’s true. Healthcare would be prenatal care.
I’m talking about Not Dead Yet, Diane Coleman…
Oh, hooray! Hispanic health supporters were there! And the American Cancer Society! I mean, we could try as hard as we can to be positive, right? This is sad to be shut out, but if we look at places that provide actual healthcare and reduce women’s need for abortion then we still had a major victory.
Somehow I wonder if the Planned Parenthood representatives were horrified to find themselves with- ick- poor representatives and pro-disabled people and all of those freedom-hugging human nutter sorts.
Jacque, oh I know. I just wanted to go through and really look to see exactly who was there. Not suprisingly, the only people standing for life were the Catholics.
Obama is no president, he’s a tyrant.
And this country has a history of properly dealing with tyrants.
Posted by: HisMan at March 5, 2009 2:38 PM
Tyrant? As I recall, he was elected. And, unlike his predecessor, believes in the rule of law.
The word derives from Latin tyrannus meaning “illegitimate ruler”
“illegitimate ruler”
This describes Obama in so many ways…
Lauren, can you tell me how he went from “a leader I disagree with on several fundamental points,” to “illegitimate ruler?”
Because if disagreeing with someone makes them illegitimate, GWB was the most illegitimate ruler we’ve ever had.
Hal, he’s been illegitimate since he cheated in the democratic primaries.
omg, good night. what color is the sky in your world?
Hal, I’m not making this up.
Cacaus fraud was rampant.
Dr. Lynette Long’s report outlined the way Obama was fraduantly given the democratic nomination.
This is “OMG” but not because it is absurd, but because it is true and terrifying. Obama subverted our democracy.
I found one pro-life organization, the Catholic Health Assn. Of course, with 1200 hospitals, so it would have been strikingly absurd to not invite them
Lauren, the CEO of CHA is a pro-obama nun. The lone Catholic health care representative there is in his pocket.
Fed Up, That’s what I was thinking, but I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. I’m sorry to hear that.
Lauren, BTW, I was happy to see you mentioned O’s fraudulent activities within his own party to Hal. He probably thinks wewillnotbesilenced2008.com is a republican conspiracy ;-)
Fed up, my mom was a precinct captain in TX so she saw a lot of it first hand. It really was amazing.
And you can’t find Oreos at the vegan health food store… or porn at the Family Bookstore. So! You lost. An actual majority of voters pulled the lever for Pres. Obama, unaided by any court or ballot stuffing. We had 8 years of faux health clinics running amok. Now it’s time for actual honest healthcare policy from people who have more ideas than “well, the poor should avoid getting sick!”.
And don’t talk to me about Obama’s big tent. Every democrat knew that Bush’s compassionate conservatism was a smokescreen for constitutional violations run amok.
Even the conservative Chicago Tribune admits as much.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/la-oe-rutten4-2009mar04,0,1165920.column
“Obama is no president, he’s a tyrant.
And this country has a history of properly dealing with tyrants.
Posted by: HisMan at March 5, 2009 2:38 PM ”
HisMan – are you suggesting or advocating the death of our president? I think you might want to step back from your rhetorical cliff….
Yo La La La Land:
Are you advocating the death of millions of unborn children this year?
I think you should step back from the eternal cliff that ends in hell you godless wonder.
Lauren, does your mom have any faith left in the election process?
None at all. Or in the Democratic Party.
I should add that she has hope that it can be reformed, though I’m not so sure…
That’s really too bad, Lauren. You’d hope that personal involvement would lead to more faith in the process. If what I’ve read online really did happen in TX, I can understand why her faith in the system would be shattered.
Yo La Tengo- please don’t continue taking quotes out of context. First the guerilla and now the tyranny. I don’t think that anyone is advocating the death of President Obama. That’s a tad extreme and is definetly an extreme way to read this. That being said, I think that it’s great to comment on your opinions, but perhaps it would be most effective if we could all speak with respect. I mean, I would like to hear your opinions.
What do gays and lesbians have to do with health care? And when did abortion become “health care”?
Re: Gays and lesbians and healthcare
They’re only concerned with “healthcare” because they want to live sexually promiscuous and dangerous lifestyles and then have someone else pay to fix their mistakes and irresponsbility.
They’re also pro-abortion for the same reasons.
It’s a very unholy alliance.
Sexual freedom without responsbility and accountability. “If it feels good, do it…then let someone else pay to fix the problem.”
God forbid anyone be responsible for their actions or lifestyle.
Abortion “became health care” when feminists decided that killing babies was a woman’s right and guaranteed by the Constitution.
There is No “care” for the baby in abortion and it’s as far from “healthy” as you can get.
Posted by: HisMan at March 5, 2009 9:38 PM
Do you kiss your wife with that mouth? Seriously. Think before you type. And if all you’ve got is playing on my name for a comment, you might want to give your fingers a rest – God knows you do enough finger wagging as it is.
For those who think Obama’s plan will lift restrictions on health care, here are many medical procedures that may end up going by the wayside:
prenatal surgery to correct disabilities (such as spina bifida)–not sure whether it’s currently paid for, but you can bet it won’t be under Obama’s plan. And it sounds an awful lot to me like the government is not only not going to pay for what it doesn’t agree with, but won’t allow doctors to do it.
sterilization reversals–again, already not paid for (though sterilization usually is) but probably won’t be possible at all under Obama’s system
lifesaving operations for newborns–I bet they decide that the cost of repairing a newborn baby’s heart or digestive tract isn’t worth the cost. Especially if the baby is disabled.
any sort of infertility care for infertile people (as opposed to for lesbians)–I don’t agree with IVF. But they also probably won’t allow hormones to help women maintain an early pregnancy when they have a history of early miscarriage, drugs to stimulate ovulation for women whose bodies don’t ovulate on their own (not sure I would go this route personally, but I think that people have a right to try to make their bodies work correctly if they don’t), clearing blockages of the fallopian tubes that can cause tubal pregnancies, correcting some forms of male factor infertility which can be surgically corrected, or even a workup to find out the cause of infertility. Even if some of these are allowed, it will probably be only for the first child. I really hope it won’t happen, but I do see them not allowing doctors to save the lives of desperately wanted children. I’m pretty cynical at this point.
–anything experimental. For instance, new forms of cancer therapy; reimplanting embryos in tubal pregnancies; stem cell therapy (the kinds that don’t kill anyone, at least). The costs won’t be justifiable if the treatment may not work.
–anything that may prolong but not save the life of a terminally ill person, and possibly medication for their chronic pain either. Suicide pills, though, will be covered.
–equipment that may help disabled people live longer lives. I am reminded of a woman who adopted many severely disabled children whose web page I was reading. Her son’s heart would stop, but stimulating him would start it again. She was told that the state “didn’t give monitors to children without brains.” She was able to rent one, and her son made it through a difficult year because of that monitor, and lived many more years. With a similarly disabled son, later, there were no monitors available even to rent, and he died. Expect monitors (and other lifesaving or life-extending equipment and drugs) to be unavailable not only for anencephalic and microencephalic children, but also for those with non-fatal conditions like Down’s Syndrome.
–reforms to make sure there are enough nurses for patients, and to ensure high quality of nursing care. I wouldn’t want to put a family member in a government-run nursing home.
–non-hospital births: home-births, birthing centers, midwives. Sure they have better outcomes, but maybe that’s all the more reason not to allow them.
–emergency medical care for micropreemies. They might die anyway, and they’re just fetuses, right? Expect a quality of life argument here as well.
Mark my words, the vulnerable members of society will feel the effects of this. If we’re lucky, these services will still be available for the rich. But they might not be.
Why, oh why didn’t all the liberals move to Canada like they said they would when Bush was reelected?
The new healthcare wouldn’t really cut out services for the poor to give to the rich, would it? I mean, we’ve come quite a ways when the poor can attain the healthcare that they deserve. I hope that even the anti-freedom movement wouldn’t wish to see children suffering just because they made it out of the womb alive and have a disability? My cousin, though his healthcare treatment is expensive, requires special care- where would he be if they cut it off?
Posted by: Vannah at March 5, 2009 11:04 PM
I take no quotes out of context… I cite the entire quote and comment on its implications. It is not my fault if you and others cannot think through the logical implications of your statements, actions and or calls to action. Threats to George W. Bush are uncalled for by the left, and so to are threats from the right. You can be as crazy as you want inside your own mind, but as soon as a person starts talking,acting or suggesting that murder of a sitting head of state is A-OKAY, even joking, people will notice. HisMan is a big boy should be able to be responsable for his words and actions.
I will second the comment: “Obama is no president, he’s a tyrant.”
Obama is also illegitimate, controlling, in the pockets of the corporations, and handing your hard-earned money to the foreign bankers, and is screwing you with his totalitarianism.
Do you realize that many of us are having nightmares about this guy to the point we can’t sleep about what he is doing to this country?
Yes we can hope for a citizens arrest for the LOT OF THEM IN THE WH or even better a military coup that will round them up and put them in Gitmo where they can do no more harm, but the whole country is so corrupt even that might not work.
I would love to see this man arrested for his crimes against the American people. He’s even controlling the media.