White House Statement & Text On Abortion Executive Order
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Office of the Press Secretary
_____________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release March 21, 2010
STATEMENT FROM COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR DAN PFEIFFER
Today, the President announced that he will be issuing an executive order after the passage of the health insurance reform law that will reaffirm its consistency with longstanding restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortion.
While the legislation as written maintains current law, the executive order provides additional safeguards to ensure that the status quo is upheld and enforced, and that the health care legislation’s restrictions against the public funding of abortions cannot be circumvented.
The President has said from the start that this health insurance reform should not be the forum to upset longstanding precedent. The health care legislation and this executive order are consistent with this principle.
The President is grateful for the tireless efforts of leaders on both sides of this issue to craft a consensus approach that allows the bill to move forward.
A text of the pending executive order follows:
EXECUTIVE ORDER
- – - – - – -
ENSURING ENFORCEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ABORTION RESTRICTIONS IN THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (approved March __, 2010), I hereby order as follows:
Section 1. Policy.
Following the recent passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“the Act”), it is necessary to establish an adequate enforcement mechanism to ensure that Federal funds are not used for abortion services (except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered), consistent with a longstanding Federal statutory restriction that is commonly known as the Hyde Amendment. The purpose of this Executive Order is to establish a comprehensive, government-wide set of policies and procedures to achieve this goal and to make certain that all relevant actors—Federal officials, state officials (including insurance regulators) and health care providers—are aware of their responsibilities, new and old.
The Act maintains current Hyde Amendment restrictions governing abortion policy and extends those restrictions to the newly-created health insurance exchanges. Under the Act, longstanding Federal laws to protect conscience (such as the Church Amendment, 42 U.S.C. §300a-7, and the Weldon Amendment, Pub. L. No. 111-8, §508(d)(1) (2009)) remain intact and new protections prohibit discrimination against health care facilities and health care providers because of an unwillingness to provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions.
Numerous executive agencies have a role in ensuring that these restrictions are enforced, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
Section 2. Strict Compliance with Prohibitions on Abortion Funding in Health Insurance Exchanges. The Act specifically prohibits the use of tax credits and cost-sharing reduction payments to pay for abortion services (except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered) in the health insurance exchanges that will be operational in 2014. The Act also imposes strict payment and accounting requirements to ensure that Federal funds are not used for abortion services in exchange plans (except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered) and requires state health insurance commissioners to ensure that exchange plan funds are segregated by insurance companies in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, OMB funds management circulars, and accounting guidance provided by the Government Accountability Office.
I hereby direct the Director of OMB and the Secretary of HHS to develop, within 180 days of the date of this Executive Order, a model set of segregation guidelines for state health insurance commissioners to use when determining whether exchange plans are complying with the Act’s segregation requirements, established in Section 1303 of the Act, for enrollees receiving Federal financial assistance. The guidelines shall also offer technical information that states should follow to conduct independent regular audits of insurance companies that participate in the health insurance exchanges. In developing these model guidelines, the Director of OMB and the Secretary of HHS shall consult with executive agencies and offices that have relevant expertise in accounting principles, including, but not limited to, the Department of the Treasury, and with the Government Accountability Office. Upon completion of those model guidelines, the Secretary of HHS should promptly initiate a rulemaking to issue regulations, which will have the force of law, to interpret the Act’s segregation requirements, and shall provide guidance to state health insurance commissioners on how to comply with the model guidelines.
Section 3. Community Health Center Program.
The Act establishes a new Community Health Center (CHC) Fund within HHS, which provides additional Federal funds for the community health center program. Existing law prohibits these centers from using federal funds to provide abortion services (except in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman would be endangered), as a result of both the Hyde Amendment and longstanding regulations containing the Hyde language. Under the Act, the Hyde language shall apply to the authorization and appropriations of funds for Community Health Centers under section 10503 and all other relevant provisions. I hereby direct the Secretary of HHS to ensure that program administrators and recipients of Federal funds are aware of and comply with the limitations on abortion services imposed on CHCs by existing law. Such actions should include, but are not limited to, updating Grant Policy Statements that accompany CHC grants and issuing new interpretive rules.
Section 4. General Provisions.
(a) Nothing in this Executive Order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) authority granted by law or presidential directive to an agency, or the head thereof; or (ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This Executive Order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This Executive Order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity against the United States, its departments, agencies, entities, officers, employees or agents, or any other person.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
18 Responses to “White House Statement & Text On Abortion Executive Order”
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Russell on Jordan….Jordan goes hard to the right, stops, shoots…..BALLGAME!! Bryon Russell is complaining to the refs that Jordan shoved him but the refs are ignoring him…
So what’s the practical impact of this? Just that abortion funding is business as usual, no?
If so, if it’s at all intended to quiet the braying ninnies… well, good luck with that, Mr. President.
Yeah, some progressives are angry on this, but all this EO seems to do is say “the law is still the law”. If that adds 5-6 votes for health care? Okay by me.
And Stupak gets to walk around and crow about getting Lewinsky’d by the WH in exchange for his vote.
The unions and womens’ rights groups need to “primary” his ass.
Randy – they plan to. If you care to you can donate to Connie Saltonsall.
Where’s the part about confiscatin penis-extensions (er, I mean guns), detention camps and killin Grandma? And forcin the good Christian manly-men to marry gay Mooslims? I’m VERY disappointed in our terrist lovin’ President.
Oh man…almost forgot that grandma is gonna die soon! Is he gonna force an abortion on her before smacking her over the head with a death panel?
What an advance for civilization!! From infanticide to infanticide in just 40,000 years.
Too old to keep up with the tribe? We have a warehouse for you, before we toss you in a hole.
Progressive? Try progressing into madness.
If this bill passes, and somehow is not seriously altered or repealed in the next generation or so , YOU — yes, all of YOU — will be old enough to regret it’s passage. And you will be helpless to do anything about it .
And the best part about it is, an executive order can be undone by another executive order at some point. No supermajority, reconciliation or deem and pass required.
Keep predicting the future, Frank. One of these day you’re bound to be right, by sheer luck if for no other reason.
What an advance for civilization!! From infanticide to infanticide in just 40,000 years.
No, actually, infanticide is illegal. Has been for a long time. What that has to do with abortion rights is between you and your God.
One advance we’ve made over the last 40,000 years is that women’s uteruses are no longer under the absolute power of their nearest male relatives.
YOU — yes, all of YOU — will be old enough to regret it’s passage
I have this mental image of Frank holding a flashlight under his chin as he says this. Oooooh, scaaaaary kids!!
And when that day comes, I’ll ask myself: “Why, oh why didn’t I listen to Frank DiSalle way back then?”
But until then, raspberries to you.
Kinda like all of those seniors go around regretting the passage of Medicare? Oh wait a minute…
Thank you, bikelib… You are right. Or, you would be , if you knew any seniors.
Quaker, when that day comes , you will have forgotten my name, and probably yours, as the medicine to help you will cost 16,387,498,265 Euros, and your Social Security check will only be 7,312,602 Euros a month.
fafaroo , partial birth abortion is infanticide. It doesn’t take God to see that — only a video.
And, yes, I will be right. Just like I will be right in November, when the Democrats get crushed at the Polls.
Between the loony left’s dissatisfaction with those that weren’t left enough , and the right’s incredible anger at their being ignored, you can count on losing the House, and maybe the Senate (I don’t know how many Senate seats are up for grabs).
I know this — if I were in the Senate, I would work day and night to get this Bill repealed, BEFORE Pres Obama leaves the White House in 2013.
“you can count on losing the House, and maybe the Senate”
Wow. I’d love to take this bet.
Let’s say, one-zillion Euros that you are absolutely fucking wrong on this one?
Dems will lose seats in the House, but lest we forget most of the Teabagger rage is aimed squarely at GOP incumbents. They’re going to primary a number of Republicans who might have been more or less a sure thing to be elected. The purity-tests have begun, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
“If you knew any seniors”. Frank, man, what the fuck? Again with the babbling non-sequitirs? Because my mama (my SENIOR mama) raised me right, I ALMOST feel sorry for you. Almost. (Sorry, Mom)
the right’s incredible anger at their
being ignorednot getting absolutely everything they wantedThe minuscule chance your prediction will turn out to be correct hinges on the fact that in a household full of kind, reasonable parents and insufferable petulant brats, the whiny ass titty babies tend to rule the roost.