On Sunday's Meet the Press, Kathleen Sebelius alluded to the fact that Bart Stupak didn't know what he was talking about. She put it in a tactful way. I think Stupak is just trying to look good to his people. Either that or he's confused.
But is Stupak right -- that the Senate bill directly subsidizes abortions? The answer appears to be no.
For starters, let's look at the pages that Stupak cited to Stephanopoulos. From pages 2,071-2,072: "If a qualified health plan provides coverage of services described in paragraph (1)(B)(i)" -- i.e., abortion -- "the issuer of the plan shall not use any amount attributable to [health reform's government-funding mechanisms] for purposes of paying for such services.
As Slate's Timothy Noah, who fact-checked Stupak last week, writes, "That seems pretty straightforward. No government funding for abortions." First Read
