Home > Issues & Alerts > Legislative Alerts > Bramble/UDOH Pronounce Taxpayer-Funded Death Sentence for Unborn! (Alert for 6/13/04 — Last updated on 7/7/04)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Bramble/UDOH Pronounce Taxpayer-Funded Death Sentence for Unborn!

(Alert for 6/13/04Last updated on 7/7/04)


Update for 7/18/04: In response to a Citizens' Letter demanding a public hearing on its recent abortion "ruling," the Utah Department of Health has scheduled a hearing TOMORROW, July 19 (Monday) at 4:30 PM.  The meeting will ironically be held at the Department of Health, Children with Special Health Care Clinic, 44 N. Medical Dr. (same street as Primary Children's Hospital up by the University of Utah), Conference Room A-B-C.  See a map.

Will you stand against the state's efforts to again use your tax dollars to destroy children? Or will you, like many German citizens during WWII, ignore and excuse the government-sponsored death camps of our time? If you don't come and help stop this "ruling", the "special health care needs" of the unborn will be the life that they are denied.

 

"The sovereign authority in any country is the power
of making laws..." — Thomas Paine, Rights of Man

Summary: Sen. Curt Bramble has collaborated with the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) to gut Utah's new law prohibiting taxpayer funding of abortion on demand. A new UDOH bureaucratic "emergency ruling" attempts to redefine statute and again force taxpayers to fund all types of abortion on demand. Why the "emergency"? Perhaps in part because, according to Planned Parenthood’s 2003 IRS Form 990, UDOH is one of its top 5 paid independent contractors! See what you can do to prevent your government from forcing you to pay for murder.

Topics:

1. Ruling Creates Giant "Public Funds" Loophole for Abortion Providers

2. UDOH "Prevents Premature Death" by Abortion?

3. UDOH One of the Top 5 Contractors for Planned Parenthood

4. The Fourth Branch of Government: Unelected Bureaucracy

5. TAKE ACTION!

1. Ruling Creates Giant "Public Funds" Loophole for Abortion Providers

Senator Curt Bramble has collaborated with Utah Department of Health (UDOH) bureaucrats to gut Senate Bill 68, the very bill he eagerly promised citizens he would champion in the 2004 legislative session. As we pointed out in our previous alert, Senate Bill 68, does not prohibit abortion. It only makes it less convenient and easy by protecting taxpayers from being forced to directly or indirectly fund the procedures.

The UDOH has implemented an "emergency ruling" without any apparent public input or notice (read the statute regarding the nature of emergency rules). These administrative rules have the effect of law. There appear to be no absolute checks and balances on this bureaucratic power save a court challenge or the direct action of the legislature (in this case, an emergency session).

The UDOH claims to be seeking public input, but has yet to post the "ruling" on its Website. It did, however, send a "final draft of the rule" to the Utah Hospital Association, the Utah Medical Association, and Utah hospitals — granting them more time to prepare to begin abortions on demand again. See the UDOH’s press release for more information.

The Bramble/UDOH "ruling" includes the following definition of public funds:

"'Public funds' means money provided by the state, its institutions or its political subdivisions. 'Public funds' does not include (i) clinical revenue generated from nongovermental payors,; (ii) gift or donor provided funds [perhaps via government employee health insurance "donations"?]; (iii) investment income [a creative accounting loophole?]; or (iv) federal funds appropriated by the legislature [this could certainly include indirect, or hidden, appropriations]."

On the surface, this definition of "public funds" appears to only be in force with regard to the specific "abortion billing codes" cited in (1)(a) and (1)(b)of the "ruling". According to Bramble and the UDOH, these codes only apply to "grave fetal defects" (Accountability Utah is still investigating this claim). Another portion of this ruling, however, provides a plausible escape for abortion providers to break the law and claim that they were attempting to comply with this new ruling:

"Each provider who submits a certification is responsible to be informed of the abortion funding restrictions found in Utah Code section 76-7-326 and to assess whether it receives public funds for any abortion that is not excepted in subsections (a), (b), or (c) of Utah Code subsection 76-7-326(2)." (emphasis added)

And which definition of "public funds" should abortion providers concern themselves with when they read state statute 76-7-326(2)? You guessed it: the definition offered in this "emergency ruling". In other words, if abortion providers use government "gifts or donor provided funds", government "investment income", or "federal funds appropriated by the legislature" in some direct or roundabout fashion, this bureaucratic rule implies that it is ok to go ahead and perform any type of abortion they desire.

Notice the crafty and deceptive wording in the UDOH press release:

"'The hospitals approached us in mid-May and asked us to create this rule to help them determine if they were in compliance,' said Dr. Scott Williams, Executive Director, UDOH. 'We worked with them on the language and came up with a process that will allow them to certify that their use of public and private funds for abortions is consistent with the new law. This rule will allow Utah hospitals and doctors to resume the termination of pregnancies complicated by grave fetal defects, if they choose to.'"

In reality, these exceptions are so large, Planned Parenthood could drive a truck through them. The evils of taxpayer funding of abortion on demand are back in force. Expect the death toll to begin rising again, and Accountability Utah's "Infanticide Counter" to soon reappear on our home page.

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2. UDOH "Prevents Premature Death" by Abortion?

Ironically, the UDOH mission statement is as follows:

"The mission of the Utah Department of Health is to protect the public's health through preventing avoidable illness, injury, disability and premature death, assuring access to affordable, quality health care, and promoting healthy lifestyles."

How can an organization tasked to "prevent premature death" write an "emergency ruling" that opens the door to again force taxpayers to fund the premature death of infants?
Note: If the term "infant" seems inaccurate, see our publication, "Why the Term 'Infanticide'".

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3. UDOH One of the Top 5 Contractors for Planned Parenthood

The answer involves money and power. Due to the difficulty in obtaining financial records for abortion clinics and hospitals that have performed abortions, it is impossible to expose the full extent of the incestuous financial relationships between private organizations and government agencies.

But as we reported in our Issue in Focus: "Why Pro-life Efforts Fail in Utah: Exposing the Deadly Myths," according to Planned Parenthood's IRS Form 990, in its fiscal year ending June 30, 2002, Planned Parenthood received $2,690,495 in government grants and $839,229 in Medicare/Medicaid payments. This does not include possible indirect insurance payments and patient fees that came from other government sources. Planned Parenthood's total revenue for that year was only $6,666,588.  Planned Parenthood is, of course, a major promoter of abortions.

In addition to this revenue from government sources, the Utah Department of Health, Division of Laboratory Services is listed as one of Planned Parenthood's top five paid independent contractors at $152,410. Is this abortion "ruling". that again opens up taxpayer funding of abortion on demand, political payback?
Note: UDOH was also featured in our recent news article on a special grant they gave for the "Gays Kick Ash" campaign.

Is it really so strange, then, that legislators and bureaucrats have never considered the plight of the unborn to be an emergency? Again, as we reported in our previous alert, after the senate filibustered anti-abortion bills in the 2003 session, citizens appropriately and relentlessly confronted each and every senator for his or her cowardice and contempt. Citizens also contacted Governor Leavitt and then Governor Walker, demanding that they hold an emergency session to correct the inaction of the Utah Senate. Protests were held and a resolution at the 2003 GOP party convention calling for a special session was filed (but stifled by GOP party leaders). Despite these efforts, taxpayer-funded murder was never deemed to be an emergency — Governors Leavitt and Walker called no special session.

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4. The Fourth Branch of Government: Unelected Bureaucracy

The politics that you didn't learn in school is that there exists a fourth branch of government in Utah: unelected and unaccountable bureaucracy. This "ruling" is but the latest example of a growing trend. The University of Utah has utterly refused to obey the concealed carry laws enacted by the state legislature. Judges have openly defied statute by refusing to provide gun lock boxes in courts. And now, the Board of Health, with the collaborative assistance of Sen. Curt Bramble, is refusing to enforce and obey the abortion law enacted by the legislature.

The question must be asked: If an unelected bureaucracy has the power to create new laws, what is the purpose of a legislature or governor? Why not save the taxpayer dollars and frustration, admit that our elected officials are both impotent and irrelevant to the unseen hand of a leviathan bureaucracy, and retire them?

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5. TAKE ACTION!

The subject of murdering the unborn is extremely unpleasant and shameful to even contemplate. It can be temporarily soothing to block it from the mind. But the lives of real human beings are on the line and we owe it to ourselves to do all we can to extricate ourselves from the funding of these heinous acts.

When we finally demand leaders who view these acts as heinous, perhaps we can begin to more fully educate and prevent the practice and build a society that truly esteems and protects women and children. We strongly recommend the following actions:

1. Implore the intervention of Divine Providence against this dark injustice.

2. Call (and, if possible, fax and email) the following officials:

Please inform us of any responses you receive at info@accountabilityutah.org.

3. Forward this message to your family, friends, and any activists you know. Encourage them to voice their concerns and get involved.

4. Prepare to attend a public hearing on this new "ruling". Citizens have requested such a public hearing (read the letter), which is required as per state statute.  We will notify you when the hearing is scheduled.

5. Volunteer to help flier the districts of collaborating officials by e-mailing us at info@accountabilityutah.org.

6. Volunteer to participate with Accountability Utah's new "Abortion/Infanticide Task Force".

7. Monitor this site for new and updated information and join our alert list by e-mailing us at info@accountabilityutah.org.

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Accountability Utah recipe: Take our information and opinion, research their information and opinion (if it is available), and then examine the law and draw your own conclusions. For more information on similar issues, see the Infanticide section of our Issues & Alerts page.

If you have comments or suggestions, please email us at info@accountabilityutah.org.

 

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