Is Stupak Backing Off of 'Abortion Economics-Eugenics' Charge?

Even in a pressure cooker atmosphere already characterized by hyperbole, Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak's accusation that leaders of his party want health care reform to allow financing of abortion because abortions are cheaper than children was eye-popping.

Stupak is the pro-life Michigan congressman whose amendment in the House health care bill barring abortion financing is preferred by some abortion opponents to similar language in the Senate bill. Stupak and a dozen like-minded colleagues vow to withhold their votes from the Senate version despite pressure from party leaders.

Last Friday, during a telephone interview with Stupak, National Review Online asked him what argument Democratic leaders were using to try to change his mind.

"If you pass the Stupak amendment, more children will be born, and therefore it will cost us millions more," Stupak told NRO. "That's one of the arguments I've been hearing. Money is their hang-up. Is this how we now value life in America? If money is the issue -- come on, we can find room in the budget. This is life we're talking about."

Stupak is understandably frustrated -- pro-life Democrats don't get a lot of love from party leaders in the best of times, and his stubborn stance during this heated moment, especially in light of strong arguments that he may be mistaken on the Senate bill's abortion provisions, isn't making him more popular.

But the megaphone of the Internet and special interest politics quickly amplified Stupak's comments.

"Bombshell: Democrat leadership admits to Stupak they want abortions to help cut health care costs!" wrote Thomas Peters, the self-described "American Papist" and conservative Catholic activist, who said his jaw "almost hit the floor" when he read Stupak's remarks. "To create such a culture of death is bad enough, but to do so with the goal of economic growth is equally illusory," wrote Carl Anderson, head of the Knights of Columbus.

As the talking point spread, Stupak called NRO back to clarify, resulting in this note tacked to the end of the original post:

"In recent conversations, [Stupak] says that some Democratic members, not Democratic leaders, have been citing a Congressional Budget Office report that says his amendment will cost $500 million to implement over ten years. 'I did not mean to infer that the leaders are using financial arguments to deny my amendment,' he says. 'We have spoken about the CBO and my amendment's costs, but the leadership has not said that it costs too much money. My point here was that if cost is becoming a concern about my amendment, then that should be addressed, since this is the sanctity of life we're talking about. We can address those costs. Cost should not be a reason to deny my amendment.' "

Well, that clears things up. Sort of. Distinguishing between party members and leaders seems like a distinction with little difference at this point. And it still seems that someone is using financial arguments against his amendment. But that logic doesn't seem to fit, given that the research showing that universal, affordable health care reduces abortions anyway.

In any case, Stupak's elaboration hasn't stopped various columnists from pivoting off his original comments.

At The Wall Street Journal site on Monday, James Taranto saw an emerging government-sponsored eugenics policy in Stupak's remarks. And in his column on Tuesday, R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a prominent conservative commentator, said Stupak's revelation "is nothing less than horrifying."