The End of Common Ground

A good hearted and extremely well-connected Catholic came up to me at a Catholic event this week in Washington D.C. and said, “Now don’t you see the value of engagement? At the Kennedy funeral, Cardinal O’Malley directly lobbied the president to keep abortion out of the health care bill and look what happened.” This good-hearted Republican, who has been at the very center of the common-ground talks with the White House, had apparently missed the headlines only twenty-four hours earlier.

Even before the ink was dry on the Stupak Amendment, which limits abortion coverage in the new healthcare bill, the New York Times reported that the president, “Seeks Revision of Plan’s Abortion Limits.” President Obama told the Times, “There needs to be some more work before we get to the point where we’re not changing the status quo [on abortion].” He said, “We’re not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortion.” The status quo he refers to is the Hyde Amendment. “On the other hand,” the president continued, “we’re not restricting women’s insurance choices.” That is the talking point of the abortion lobby, one they hope will unravel Stupak and give America the largest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade.

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