By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Writer Despite frequent statements to the contrary, a leading non-partisan watchdog group says President Obama is being less than honest when he tells the public that health care reform will not provide government funding for abortion. FactCheck.org, which regularly analyzes the accuracy of statements made by politicians, says that although it is true that the bills currently being considered in Congress don’t require federal money to be used for abortion coverage, they would allow the new public insurance plan to do so. During a recent conference call organized by religious organizations supporting his health care proposals, the president claimed "there has been a lot of misinformation in this debate, and there are some folks out there who are frankly bearing false witness." After debunking the “death panels” concept along with claims that illegal aliens will be insured, the president went on to say: “You’ve heard that this is all going to mean government funding of abortion. Not true. This is all, these are all fabrications . . .” However, the president’s statement is false, says FactCheck. House bill (H.R.3200) explicitly authorizes the government to cover all elective abortions. While the original bill made no mention of abortion, the House Energy and Commerce Committee amended it on July 30 with an amendment named after Democratic Rep. Lois Capps of California. FactCheck explains: “The Capps amendment states that some abortions ‘shall’ be covered by the ‘public option’ plan, specifically those types of abortions that Congress allows to be covered under Medicaid, under the so-called ‘Hyde Amendment, which has been attached regularly to appropriations bills for many years. These are abortions performed in cases or rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother.” As for other types of abortion, the Capps amendment leaves it up to the secretary of Health and Human Services, the radically pro-abortion Kathleen Subelius, to decide whether or not they will be covered. The Capps amendment says, “Nothing in this Act shall be construed as preventing the public health insurance option from providing” abortion services that would not be legal for Medicaid coverage. FactCheck explains that while the Capps amendment does contain a statement that prohibits the use of public money to pay for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest and to save the life of the mother, it would still allow the public plan to cover all abortions, so long as the plans took in enough private money in the form of premiums paid by individuals or their employers. The Capps language also would allow private plans purchased with federal subsidies ("affordability credits" for low-income families and workers) to cover abortion. Representatives tried to over-rule the Capps amendment with another amendment, introduced by Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, which would have prohibited government funding of "any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion," except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. The Stupak amendment was rejected by a vote of 31-27. The National Right to Life Committee’s legislative director Douglas Johnson correctly explains that, as it stands, "The Capps Amendment MANDATES that the public plan cover any Medicaid-fundable abortions, and AUTHORIZES the secretary to cover all other abortions. … [F]rom day one, she [Secretary Kathleen Sebelius] is authorized to pay for them all. And, she will." FactCheck goes on to point out that the president is only keeping his campaign promises by providing abortion coverage in the health care plan. On July 17, 2007, while addressing Planned Parenthood, he said: “We’re going to set up a public plan that all persons and all women can access if they don’t have health insurance. It will be a plan that will provide all essential services, including reproductive services . . .” FactCheck has therefore concluded that “As for the House bill - as it stands now - it’s a matter of fact that it would allow both a ‘public plan’ and newly subsidized private plans to cover all abortions.” © All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®  http://www.womenofgrace.com