[wagglebee]

Dr. Alveda King nails Reid!

Thread by me.

Martin Luther King Jr's Niece Blasts Harry Reid on Abortion Bill-Slavery Comments

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is upset by the comments Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made about opponents of the pro-abortion Senate health care bill. Reid compared opposition to the bill, which funds abortions, to the 19th-century debate over slavery.

Reid on Monday said Republicans opposed to the bill were displaying the same mindset as those who supported slavery.

“If you think you've heard these same excuses before, you're right,” Reid said. “When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said, ‘Slow down, it’s too early, things aren't bad enough.’ ”

Reid came under heavy criticism for the remarks and, on Tuesday, he defended his comments, saying critics were "distorting" them.

"At pivotal points in American history, the tactics of distortion and delay have certainly been present," Reid said, according to The Hill. "They've certainly been used to stop progress. That's what we're talking about here."

"It's very clear. That's the point I made — no more, no less. Anyone who willingly distorts my comments is only proving my point," he added.

While republicans have struck back -- with national party chairman Michael Steele, who is black, leading the critics, Reid is hearing from another corner as well.

Alveda King, the director of African American Outreach for Priests for Life, a national Catholic pro-life group, also has something to say.

The niece of the famous civil rights leader told LifeNews.com she thought Reid's comments clearly were "comparing opponents of his health care bill to supporters of slavery."

She said it is Reid who is more closely aligned with slavery and the mindset of those who support it.

“Senator Reid has written a bill that would force Americans to pay for the abortion of babies and he implies that opposition to his efforts is evil? His comments are outrageous," King said.

“It’s Senator Reid’s bill that treats unborn humans like property. If anything, it’s his actions that should be compared to support for slavery," she added.

[wagglebee]

Wesley J. Smith makes some grim predictions for the coming year.

Thread by me.

Wesley J. Smith: Abortion, Assisted Suicide and Bioethics Predictions for 2010, Tough Pro-Life Year

"Flash Forward" is a new and interesting television drama presented on the ABC Television Network. The premise is brilliant - due to reasons still unknown, everyone in the world (except the bad guys) blackout for two minutes seventeen seconds.

Planes crash, people collapse on the streets, swimmers drown, it is an utter catastrophe that results in the deaths of 20 million people. Being unconscious, blackout victims experience a "flash forward" - a vision of precisely what they would be doing for two minutes and seventeen seconds at the same specific time in April 2010.

Some have happy futuristic visions of new loves, some unhappy of broken marriages and deaths, some terrifying such as being murdered, one hilarious - an FBI supervisor is chagrined to admit he spent his entire flash forward on the toilet. Still others have nothing but blackness, indicating that they may be dead next April. The show raises several fascinating questions; whether free will exists, can "the future" be changed, indeed, can it really be predicted.

Well, it’s time for our very own "flash forward" as the CBC has again asked me to prognosticate about our bioethical future in 2010:

Obamacare Will Pass

I was caught flat footed in last year’s predictions by the intense heat generated over health care reform in 2009. Rather than target health care reform to the need to expand access to health insurance as I supposed would happen, the proposals sought instead to remake the entire health care system. This stirred a hornet’s nest, raising important questions of affordability, fears of health care rationing - provocatively labeled "death panels" by Sarah Palin - coverage for abortion, illegal immigrants, and the definition of what constitutes medical treatment.

How will it all turn out? I predict a health care reform bill will be signed into law in 2010. That’s the easy part. The question becomes, what will it look like? That is hard to say since many of the important details will be determined by the tens of thousands of regulations promulgated to carry out the law in over the next few years. Still, the outlines are growing clear in my crystal ball. Here is my personal Obamacare flash forward:

The Public Option. One of the biggest controversies surrounding Obamacare is whether there will be a government health care plan to compete with private insurance companies. I predict that the pure PO will not become law in 2010. Instead, there will be a hybrid alternative enacted permitting non-profit companies - and only non profit companies - to join a government authorized purchasing collective. Whether they will actually threaten the private insurance sector - which I believe is the intent - will not become clear until after the law goes into effect in 2013.

Heath Care Rationing. Obamacare doesn't call explicitly for health care rationing, but creates its foundation with the establishment of cost/benefit/best practices boards that will be given tremendous sway over the standards of medical care and extent of coverage for both private and public plans. There is almost zero chance these boards will not be part of any law that passes. That means health care rationing will remain a looming specter and a cause for continuing societal debate for years to come.

Abortion. Companies participating in the public exchanges will be required to provide some abortion coverage, but there will not be direct public funding of most abortions. However, the law will permit regulators to require indirect public funding, for example, allowing abortion coverage to be purchased with government vouchers or tax credits.

End of Life Counseling. The provision allowing doctors to be compensated for providing end of life counseling will pass. But the law will require that it be voluntary and not directed to any particular decisions or outcomes.

Illegal Aliens. The law will not explicitly provide for coverage for people who are not legally in the country. But it will not require purchasers of government underwritten health insurance to provide proof of legal status, meaning that undocumented aliens will find ways to purchase health insurance under Obamacare.

The passage of Obamacare will not be the end of the controversy over national health insurance, but the beginning. There will be much wrangling over the regulations, attempts to roll back the law if and when Republicans regain control of Congress, and anger over increased taxation before benefits are paid. Expect the issue to be politically volatile for many years to come. . .