A Hard Pill to Swallow

When Scott Brown was elected on January 19, 2010, there was jubilation from opponents of Healthcare "reform." My family, friends, and colleagues were all ecstatic and though I was happy, I was not as joyful as they were. Sure, Scott Brown became the infamous 40th Senator but for some reason, I knew that the health care "reform" debate was far from over and his election only pushed back more debate until a later date. Unfortunately, this result came true last night. The passage of "universal healthcare reform" is truly a hard pill to swallow.

In the months leading up to last night's vote, there were those who believed that it was inevitable that healthcare "reform" would pass. Either by slimy, secret back room deals, political buy offs and compromises, or promises to campaign for those who voted for the bill, it seemed as if nothing could stop health care "reform" from passing. Then came the tea party movement, Scott Brown, and then the Democratic pro-life poster child Bart Stupak.

A few months ago, I watched Raymond Arroyo, on EWTN's the World Over, discuss with Bark Stupak the pro-life issues surrounding Obamacare. Many in the Catholic Church and the pro-life world placed their faith and trust in Stupak, including the Catholic bishops. How could they not? Stupak was a shining light for the pro-life cause, a potential roadblock to healthcare "reform" passage that does not protect the dignity of life. He was man who secured pro-life protections in the first House healthcare vote on 11/7/2009.

This trust shattered yesterday. I, like many others, was shocked, floored, angry, and in disbelief. How could Bark Stupak lay down his fight this close to the finish line? I have listened to his reasoning about the Senate not having enough pro-life votes and that the executive order was the best deal possible. But still, I must admit that this is the hardest thing to accept about this bill passing. I trusted (for the most part) Stupak to hold out with his fellow pro-life Democrats. I thought he was different. For someone who went through hell over the past few months, I could not believe that he caved in at the 11th hour just as Senator Nelson (NE) and Senator Landrieu (LA) had done. The disappointment is crushing and devastating. Our last hope in preventing the total re-organization of the best health care system in the world was gone. And even more illuminating is that, as Phyllis Schlafly and Ramesh Ponnuru have wrote, there are no longer any real pro-life Democrats.

Stupak's executive order compromise will be short lived; it is a paperless farce. President Obama will most likely sign the order soon, but what really prevents him from reversing it on a Friday afternoon when people are planning their weekend and not following the news closely? To think that President Obama will give up abortion funding this easy would be a total misunderstanding of his policies since taking office: he overturned the Mexico City policy on one of his first days in office, he has appointed numerous and extreme pro-choice individuals to positions, and he nominated a pro-choice Supreme Court justice. These are only a few of many examples.

Make no mistake, abortion has been at the epicenter of the healthcare debate: not the insurance companies, not Medicare/Medicaid, and not the cost. The battle for who controls the dignity of life is at the epicenter of the debate because if it were not, they would not waited until the 11th hour, they would not have originally written coverage for abortion in the bill or been so stubborn in removing it, and the Senate would have added stronger protections against abortion in their bill. To think that the most pro-choice President and the most pro-choice Congress in American history would throw away a chance to ram through their token issue of abortion, you would have to be crazy.

You may not agree with me that abortion and pro-life issues are at the center of health care "reform." But think of it this way: Obamacare includes an individual insurance mandate in which the taxes you pay go toward abortion. Add this to cuts in Medicare and it is not too much of a stretch to see how this government takeover is really about controlling who lives and who dies.

Our Founding Fathers wrote about the "Tyranny of the Majority." They wrote this in regards to factions of people rather than representatives. Yet, I would argue that a "tyranny of the majority" has occurred in Congress. The Democrats control Congress; thus, they do not and did not need to really listen to the opposing side or the American citizenry. This indication was obvious as poll after poll showed that Americans were/are against Obamacare.

Many have fought hard against Obamacare by taking the "road less traveled" while others have compromised their principles for supposed "reform." I guess the old saying really is true: in politics, you either sleep well or eat well. While those who fought Obamacare may have had a few restless nights, they can wake up each morning, look themselves in the mirror, and know that they have actually stayed true the Founding principles. Is this fight over? In the words of Minority Leader John Boehner "HELL NO!"