BRAD ELLSWORTH COMMlnHS:

8TH DISTRICT, INDIANA

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AND CAPABILITIES

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INVESTIGATIONS AND OVERSIGHT

July 27,2010

Patrick Blumer

Evansville, IN

Dear Patrick,

Thank you for contacting me about the importance of ensuring pro-life

protections in the new health care reform law are strictly enforced. I appreciate your
comments, and I welcome this opportunity to share my thoughts.

As a pro-life Hoosier, one of my central concerns has been preventing federal

funding of elective abortion. Throughout my life and my brief time in Congress, I have
held firm to my pro-life principles, even when it meant going against my party, and I am
proud of my 100% pro-life voting record on abortion-related issues.

After spending time listening carefully to constituents, pro-life leaders, policy

experts, reading all the details of every bill and receiving the assurances from the
Catholic Health Association and Catholic Nuns, I was confident in my heart that the final
health reform package met my pro-life principles and upheld the policy of no federal
funding for elective abortions. While the health reform law ensures that no taxpayer
funds will be used to fund abortions, it also provides Hoosier women experiencing an
unexpected pregnancy with the resources they need to choose life, like prenatal health
care, childcare, and parenting education. The bill also encourages adoption by providing
couples who choose to adopt with an expanded, $15,000 tax credit. The combination of
these two policies, backed with $250 million in federal funding, is expected to reduce
_abortions in Indiana by 95% over ten years. _

As you may have heard, the new health care reform law establishes new high risk
pools, designed to help Americans with preexisting conditions access affordable health
insurance between now and when the bill fully outlaws insurance company
discrimination in 2014. Each state has the option to create its own high risk pool, and
several states have taken advantage of this new authority to set up innovative plans that
can help vulnerable Americans get the health care they need. Some incorrect sources
recently reported the new high risk pool plan in Pennsylvania was planning to use federal
funds to pay for elective abortions, which is not allowed by the Hyde Amendment.
Importantly, federal rules for this program have yet to be written, and the Department of
Health and Human Services has publicly stated the final rules will indeed prohibit any

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high risk pool receiving federal funds from paying for elective abortions with taxpayer
dollars. Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania high risk pool's state. level rules also clearly state
that "elective abortions are not covered". This is one of the first examples ofthe
combination of strong pro.life protections written into the law and the President's
Executive Order, which has the force oflaw in federal courts, successfully preventing
taxpayer funding of elective abortions. In another example, the State of New Mexico
recently attempted to submit a plan for a high risk pool that reimbursed for elective
abortions, and the state was forced to withdraw that plan once state officials leamed the
federal government would not approve it without strict pro. life taxpayer protections.

You may also be interested in visiting the independent, award.winning fact

checking websites FactCheck.org and PolitiFacLcom. These sites separately examined
the pro. life provisions in the health reform law and found no federal taxpayer dollars
would be used to fund elective abortions. Thanks again for taking the time to share your
'views'with me. If you would likdoleam more about my positions on issues important to
you or receive regular updates on developments in Congress, please visit my Online
Office at www.ellsworth.house.gov and sign up for my e.newsletter.

Sincerely,

~
Brad Ellsworth

BE/BE

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