Sebelius: Senate health care plan will pay for abortions

Washington D.C., Jan 4, 2010 / 16:53 pm

In a little-publicized interview given with the Feminist blog, “BlogHer.com,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius praised the language in the Senate version of the health care bill because it upholds publicly-funded abortion coverage.

In the interview with BlogHer’s Political Director Morra Aarons-Mele, Sebelius stated that the Senate bill takes “a big step forward from where the House left it with the Stupak amendment.”  Sebelius went on to note that she thinks it does “a good job making sure there are choices for women, making sure there are going to be some plan options, and making sure that, while public funds aren’t used, we are not isolating, discriminating against, or invading the privacy rights of women.”

According to Sebelius, Harry Reid’s version of the health care bill would establish “an accounting procedure,” but “everybody in the exchange would do the same thing, whether you’re male or female, whether you’re 75 or 25.” That procedure “would all set aside a portion of your premium that would go into a fund, and it would not be earmarked for anything, it would be a separate account that everyone in the exchange would pay.”

When Aarons-Mele observes during the interview that the explanation is “a bit confusing,” the HHS Secretary explains, “it is a bit confusing, but it’s really an accounting measure that would apply across the board and not