The Executive Order Sham
(Reprinted from the Bioethics Defense Fund - bdfund.org)
March 21, 2010. 11:02 pm ET. Bioethics Defense Fund lawyers have carefully analyzed the text of the Executive Order to be signed by President Obama as a companion to the Senate health bill just passed by a vote of 219-212. See how your Representatives voted here. The bill now heads to the President’s desk for signature, and it will be the law of the land immediately. BDF senior counsel Dorinda Bordlee issued the following statement:
“The language of the Executive Order reveals that it was a meaningless sham designed to induce the Stupak Democrats to vote ‘yes’ on the Senate bill that provides federal subsidies and direct funding of abortion. The Obama administration knows full well that statutory law overrides executive orders. The President acting alone cannot “extend” the Hyde Amendment policy to new programs as the Executive Order vaguely purports to do – only the Congress can do that. A court challenge (i.e. by Planned Parenthood) would immediately invalidate the null promises of the Executive Order. Bioethics Defense Fund is deeply disappointed that the Stupak Democrats allowed empty words and an obvious political ploy to trump the sanctity of life principle that they claimed to defend.”
Of special interest is the decision of a leading pro-life woman’s group to strip Congressman Stupak of an award:
“This Wednesday night is our third annual Campaign for Life Gala, where we were planning to honor Congressman Stupak for his efforts to keep abortion-funding out of health care reform,” SBA List president Marjorie Dannenfelser told LifeNews.com.
“We will no longer be doing so. By accepting this deal from the most pro-abortion President in American history, Stupak has not only failed to stand strong for unborn children, but also for his constituents and pro-life voters across the country,” she said.
Even the nation’s largest abortion provider — Planned Parenthood — is claiming “VICTORY” because they “were able to keep the Stupak abortion ban out of the final legislation and President Obama did not include the Stupak language in his Executive Order.”