The Bush administration again impressed the U.S. pro-life, Christian and conservative communities with the news that unborn children are to become eligible for government health care under the State Children’s Health Insurance program.
The announcement was made by Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, who highlighted the importance of health care in a human being’s first months of life. “Prenatal services can be a vital, life-long determinant of health, and we should do everything we can to make this care available for all pregnant women.”
Thompson’s announcement drew immediate praise from a number of sources.
“We applaud President Bush and Secretary Thompson for setting right this past wrong and taking a significant step toward the president’s goal of building a ‘culture of life,'” remarked Family Research Council president Ken Connor. He added that it would be “shameful” for pro-abortion advocates to oppose the policy for the sake of staking out political ground.
“No one could possibly object to making children eligible for participation in the program before as well as after birth – unless they had some ulterior reason for denying the humanity of these children,” said Michael Schwartz, vice-president of government relations for Concerned Women for America.
Feminists for Life president Serrin Foster said the announcement provides “for the health needs of pregnant women and their unborn children (and) will give many women who are not eligible for Medicaid the resources to deliver healthy children.”
