When the House of Representatives, mostly led by members of The Freedom Caucus, recently refused to pass the American Health Care Act (AHCA), it seemed like a treasonous debacle to the American people. Even President Trump expressed his anger. Several Pro-Life groups supported the AHCA, because it would have defunded Planned Parenthood.
But, what the American people didn’t know was that the American Health Care Act would not have accomplished its primary mission and promise: Repeal and Replace ObamaCare.
The American Health Care Act was a kludge of a health-care policy. Described as a way to simultaneously repeal key elements of the Affordable Care Act and replace them with market-oriented reforms, the bill in its final form managed to do little of either. Freedom Caucus members were particularly concerned about the willingness of House leaders to leave the vast majority of Obamacare’s regulations on the books — after Republicans spent seven years promising that the party would “repeal and replace Obamacare.” Even the rationale that the AHCA would be better than nothing was hard to justify; it probably would have further destabilized the individual market, while millions fewer would have been insured. See It’s Wrong for Trump to Blame Conservatives.
Even as Obamacare continues funding Planned Parenthood, the foundation supporting abortion is weakening through other means. Since the AHCA’s defeat, President Trump has taken action to defund a UN agency that supports forced abortion. Also on March 31, Congress voted to "restore the ability of states to stop one stream of our tax dollars going to Planned Parenthood and redirect it to community health centers that provide comprehensive primary and preventive health care.” See Major Victories for Life and Bill Passes to allow states to redirect funds away from Abortion Clinics.
And, on April 7, 2017, Judge Neil Gorsuch was confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards tweeted that Gorsuch’s confirmation is "the worst" because Gorsuch has written that "the intentional taking of human life by private persons is ALWAYS wrong." See Why Justice Gorsuch will have an immediate (and big) impact on the Supreme Court.
Hear what several members of Congress, including the House Freedom Caucus, have to say about the disastrous flaws in the AHCA, and why they must be corrected.
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