Dear Congressman,
Some thoughts I'd like to share with you, and the other Congressmen that share your concerns on the abortion language in the Senate health care bill.
There are many debates and many deeply held convictions concerning the topic of abortion. Most of the underlying motivations for these positions are deeply noble ones... the sanctity of life, the rights and autonomy of all people, the deep instinct to protect the lives and rights of our fellow human beings.
And I can appreciate, especially, the motivations for opposing even an indirect funding of abortion services through a government program. For indeed, it's one thing for the government to simply not forbid something like abortion; it is quite another for the government to fund, or in any way encourage, the choice of having an abortion.
With those thoughts in mind, I encourage you to consider a circumstance that all people, pro-life or pro-choice, would see as unjust and tragic: a woman with an unplanned pregnancy that nonetheless wants very much to have the baby (despite the pregnancy being unintentional)... but feels she is unable to do so, due to her own personal situation. A woman that has an abortion under these circumstances is the saddest case of all.
I would submit to you that the most common cause for this tragic circumstance is a lack of health insurance. If the woman is poor, already has children, has reason to fear that her unintended pregnancy will be a high-risk one, and has no health insurance... she will be understandably terrified. In this case, you have exactly the situation we want most to avoid: the health care system of the United States actually encourages such a woman to have an abortion. If she chooses to proceed with the pregnancy, she knows she will be on her own, sacrificing not only herself, but her family as well, with nothing to rely on but her own resources, money, and time. She may indeed feel that it would be grossly irresponsible of her not to have the abortion... and that is a tragedy for everyone.
I assert to each of you that the most effective way for you to make a positive difference in the lives of your fellow citizens, and to reduce the number of abortions in the United States, is to vote YES for health care reform. Is there a chance that some government funds might, by some convoluted and circuitous path, find their way to funding an abortion? Perhaps, but the chances are remote, and even then such an interpretation takes a great deal of contrivance. On the other hand... how many abortions might you prevent by making sure all poor women have enough insurance available to them to ensure a safe and affordable pregnancy? Many thousands is probably a conservative estimate.
You will doom more people to abortions by voting NO then you ever would by voting YES. Think well on this before you cast your vote on health care reform.
Thank you for your time.