The Clinton Health Plan sounds like a good idea. But to many pro-lifers in the U.S. the plan is a fine idea twisted to meet the ideological world-view of its framers.

Many of its problems are hidden from the general public, say experts from the pro-life side, through the Health Care Plan’s sheer immensity and complexity, and because of a wish on the part of the administration to push through a controversial and radical agenda.

The first problem of course is that the plan provides funds for virtually all abortions performed in the U.S. Not only would Americans loosest abortion laws in the world, but they would all be paid from the public purse. This alone makes defeating the plan a cause worth fighting for and it has mobilized pro-lifers across the country.

But the elderly, the disabled and other vulnerable groups in American oppose the plan for reasons unrelated to the all-out war it will mean against the unborn child.

Robert Powell, a disabilities rights activist who himself has paraplegia, wrote in the National Catholic Register that the plan makes him fear for his very life.

He, like many disabled Americans, reacted strongly against Hillary Clinton’s testimony before the Senate Finance Committee that people will not be denied treatment for any reason other than that it is not “appropriate” and “will not enhance or save the quality of life.” In other words, the “quality of life” – dangerous and ill-defined notion – determines whether or not a patient receives treatment. Powell spoke out passionately against this proposal put forward by the First Lady.

“As someone who had been repeatedly pressured by clinicians to accept death because, in their opinion, my disabilities – my quality of life – make life not worth continuing, her words make many Americans look at the plan and start to shudder. How many would have an appropriate “quality of life” to justify treatment?

Many older Americans fear health-care rationing if the Clinton plan goes ahead. Although it extends Medicare to pay for prescription drugs and long-term care, and covers people who retire early, it also means severe fiscal restraints which would be necessary to pay for the billions of dollars worth of new programs. The so-called Health Alliances which would be set up to administer health insurance would be forced to cut costs and this would inevitably restrict health-care spending.

Dough Bandow, senior Fellow at the Cato Institute and outspoken critic of the Clinton Plan, says the elderly have much to fear from the proposed scheme.

“The administration has promised the American people something for nothing: better quality care for less money,” he writes. “It’s not possible and the elderly are likely to suffer the most if Clinton’s plan is enacted.”

Other critics charge that research and development into new treatments and diagnoses will be severely curtailed by the Clinton plan. The number of trained specialists will drop sharply, some estimate to half their current number. And it will become illegal to purchase “backup insurance to buy protection from the expected healthcare rationing.

Richard Glasgow, National Right to Life Educational Director, has begun setting off alarm bells about the “School-Related Health Services” section of the plan. By 1999, $400 million will go into funding these new School-Based Clinics (SBCs) which will offer abortion counseling and referrals within the school without the parents’ knowledge let alone consent.

“Another chilling aspect of the Clinton Health Plan is the federalization of pro-abortion ‘sex education’ for all children from, kindergarten to the 12th grade,” Glasgow writes. “With outspoken abortion advocates such as U.S. Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders in charge, the federally-funded programs would be the pro-abortionist’s dream.”

Americans lose the right to choose their own doctor under the new plan, says Burke Balch, National Right to Life Director of Medical Ethics. He says a pregnant woman might be forced to go to an abortionist for her obstetrical care. A doctor might not authorize assisted feeding and the woman might not be allowed to transfer to a pro-life doctor. These scenarios are all possible if the Clinton’s have their way and their health care plan comes into law, he says.