March 16, 2010
In the high stakes game over the government takeover of health care, growing attention has been paid to what this legislation would mean for the cause of life. Syndicated radio host Janet Mefferd discussed the latest with Dr. James Dobson.
Janet Mefferd: I'm curious to find out, before we get into some of the details, what tends to bother you more at this point—the bills themselves, or the process that the Democrats have been putting it through?
Dr. James Dobson: Well, it's hard to choose between those because they are both terrible, but I think I would have to go to the top of the list for what it will mean for abortion. This may be an offensive statement to some—and I hate to have to do it—but I think that our president and the Speaker of the House are lying to us about the provisions in this bill. You know, it's got 2,000-plus pages in it and people haven't read it, they haven't seen it. Even our representatives haven't read it. And so the leaders of the Democratic party can tell us anything and people are being sucked in; but those who know tell us that this will result in federal money—yours and mine—being allocated for the support of abortion—and I can't live with that.
Mefferd: I can't live with that either and I was really amazed to see what Bart Stupak said over the weekend about what some of the Democratic leaders told him. They said that, "If you pass the Stupak amendment, more children will be born and therefore, it will cost us millions more," and he said, "Money is their hang up." It sure doesn't seem to be their hang up when it comes to a trillion dollar health care bill. Do you think it's about money?
Dobson: Well, it is about money and it is anti-life, not only with regard to the unborn child but taking $500 billion out of Medicare. That means that some people are going to be opted out. I mean, imagine going in saying, "I'm having chest pains, and I had a heart attack four years ago, and I had a stroke six years ago, and I need to be treated"—what are they going to say? Somebody is going to lose in that and it's the ones that need it the most. It's the elderly that are not respected by this community, this anti-life community. It's wicked. It's wrong. And we have to oppose it right now.
Mefferd: I am really concerned about this Coalition of Blue Dogs. Bart Stupak apparently is holding firm, but this is the group that is being targeted by the Democrats to bring them over to their side and get this health care reform through. Do you fear that this coalition of pro-life Democrats will cave?
Dobson: Of course I do. History has showed that when you have one party in the majority by a large margin, and if the vote is close, those with the power usually win because they can offer all kinds of things, either under the table or legally. They can offer them help getting re-elected; they give them money for their election campaigns. There are all kinds of things that they can offer. They are under a great deal of pressure. Speaking of Pelosi, she has such enormous power in the House, she can just make life miserable for people who oppose her. I think that there is a high probability that they are going to cave, unless they are more afraid of their constituencies than they are of the Democratic leadership….
Mefferd: Nancy Pelosi had been on with Rachel Maddow on MSNBC not too long ago saying that this will not cover abortion. That is really not true.
Dobson: It's not true at all. I heard that. I happened to be watching and I wanted to throw my shoe at the TV because she knows that the American people don't have access to this information so she can tell them anything she wants—but she is lying. I am reading you something right now that says that the legislation that President Obama is pushing provides federal subsidies for health plans that cover abortions, authorizes plans that cover elective abortions and funds community health care centers to the tune of $11 billion taxpayer dollars, without any restriction. Planned Parenthood can get access to that money. I'm telling you that they will be like pigs at a trough, just grunting and squealing and eating up American taxpayer money.
