Unpacking the Healthcare Overhaul

The one thing that seems to be clear about the recently passed healthcare legislation is this: what a complicated bill!  We hope that the following news articles and statements will provide you with some additional clarity regarding this massive reformative action.Pro-Life Groups Blast Executive Order Deal Between Stupak, Barack Obama from LifeNews.comThis article briefly explains the Executive Order and highlights opinions from many national pro-life organizations, nearly all of which have issued a statement expressing their frustration with this legislation's failure to uphold the fundamental right to life.Planned Parenthood: Healthcare passage will "significantly increase access to reproductive health care"; exec order "a symbolic gesture" from JillStanek.comPro-Life blogger Jill Stanek provides snippets of Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richard's statement regarding the healthcare reform bill and the Executive Order.  Read the full PP statement here.  Planned Parenthood was extremely anti-Stupak and worked very hard to stop the Stupak Amendment. If the Executive Order were as good as the amendment, PP would no doubt be condemning it rather than brushing it off as a mere gesture.Legal Analysis of the Provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Corresponding Executive Order Regarding Abortion Funding and Conscience Protection from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' General CounselIn this analysis, the USCCB legal counsel supports the same conclusion that both pro-life and pro-abortion advocates have reached: the Executive Order fails to effectively prevent federal funding of abortion.  See an article from LifeNews.com on this memo here.