It is a lie that the Hyde Amendment will protect American taxpayers from funding elective abortions if the merged version of Health Care Overhaul goes through. Hyde is legislation that must be renewed annually and covers abortions through Medicaid in cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment of the mother. Right now, seventeen states offer their own coverage outside Medicaid for “medically necessary” abortions including the mental health of the mother.

South Dakota is the only state not to fully abide by the Hyde Amendment, and only pays for abortion when the life of the mother is at stake.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) told HuffPo that “she might be willing to support the Senate’s abortion language.” Referring to keeping the Hyde Amendment in order to pass the bill, she said, “It’s not Stupak-Pitts [the House’s language]. So, it’s already [an improvement]. And it would appear to be current law. I would have to look at the questions that surround it, et cetera. But if it is current law then it would be something that was my goal at the outset: let’s maintain current law and then let’s pass health care.”

DeLauro is doing the White House’s bidding in reconciling the two bills to include abortion funding. She would like it to be clean and neat, but there’s a fly in the ointment. In her Susan B Anthony newsletter, Marjorie Dannenfelser writes, “Rep. Bart Stupak informed Greta Van Susteren of FOX News that the White House told him to keep silent on abortion until the President had a chance to walk him through the pro-abortion Nelson-Reid Amendment. Stupak responded, “I don’t need you to walk me through the amendment. I can read, and this amendment is unacceptable.”

For more, read here.