The title of a recently released Yahoo! article, the latest chapter in the struggle for universal health care is 'No easy way out' for Dems on abortion". Again, because this is so controversial, we can only look at what people are saying and see which side people are on (i.e. pro-life or pro-choice). Also, 'No way out' should grab our attention becaue this phrase reinforces the fact that THERE IS NO WAY to avoid this touchy issue.

"The SUDDEN SPASM of INTENSE DEBATE over abortion on Capitol Hill threatens not only to STALL (yet again) the passage of health-care legislation (which is URGENTLY needed, to fix a broken and outdated system), but also to SHATTER the DELICATE cease-fire (very appropriate word) that has GOVERNED the abortion issue during the Obama ERA" of less than 10 months. Emotive phrases: "...sudden spasm of intense debate" and "...shatter the delicate cease-fire", which will be a brief one, IF there is one at all.

As expected, a lot of talking and there are lots of different ideas flying around. According to former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, AN ABORTION OPPONENT who was an Ambassador to the Vatican during the Clinton years, "THEY'RE LOOKING for an easy way out (i.e. the Obama dministration is) "AND THERE IS NO easy way out. ON SOME OF THESE ISSUES, THERE'S JUST NO COMPROMISE". Since Flynn opposes abortion, it's a pretty safe bet that he wants abortion TO BE OUTLAWED.

According to Connecticut Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro, "What they attempt to do here is just ban coverage, TOTALLY ban coverage and that is a different mindset than maintaining current law. There's people WHO JUST DON'T WANT TO FOLLOW THAT REASONABLE APPROACH". So DeLauro is obviously an abortion supporter.

In August, 2008 (yes, before the historic election), Obama told a gathering at Pastor Rick Warren's Saddleback Church that "If you believe that life begins at conception and you are consistent in that belief, then I CAN'T ARGUE WITH YOU ON THAT because that is a core issue of faith for you". Now here's another interesting and critical question: is OBAMA pro-life or pro-choice? "What I can do is say, are there ways that we can work together to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies so that we are actually reducing the sense that women are SEEKING OUT ABORTIONS?" Interesting, but WE STILL DON'T HAVE A SENSE of where the president stands on this 'hot topic'.

"When Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court (yes, Sotomayor's back in the news again), the White House tacitly signaled its confidence IN HER SUPPORT FOR THE ROE V WADE DECISION THAT LEGALIZED ABORTION, with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs telling reporters (that) Obama spoke with his nominee about the concept of "settled law" and "LEFT VERY CONFIDENT about her interpretation of the Constitution". So, Sotomayor is definitely PRO-CHOICE and therefore, so is Obama (otherwise, it would have made no sense to pick a pro-choice judge to fill the first vacancy on the Supreme Court in his tenure: Presidents ALWAYS pick people who will ultimately SUPPORT their policies to work for them).

Obama urged "Americans to engage in CIVIL DEBATE on social issues "without reducing those with differing views to caricature" or, more specifically, making fun of, teasing or ridiculing people just because they have different ideas/interpretations about certain things from the rest of us (and when it comes to hot button/controversial issues such as abortion, a lot of people oppose it, BUT a lot of people support it too).

Obama goes on to say that "However profound our differences as Americans on difficult issues such as abortion, THEY CANNOT BE RESOLVED BY HEINOUS ACTS OF VIOLENCE". We have to agree with the president on this: killing people is NEVER the answer to ANY problem/difficult issue.

Going back to Sotomayor now, "And IF (there's another "if") Democrats were ultimately pleased with his selection of Sotomayor, they had to take the White House's word that she was a supporter of abortion rights. In her 17 year tenure on the federal bench (District Court & Appeals Court), SHE DIDN'T ISSUE A SINGLE MAJOR RULING ON THE SUBJECT" which is a major issue about Sotomayor's vetting/selection and therefore, Obama yet again. The thing is, Mr. President, how can you be so sure that someone (in this case, it's Justice Sotomayor) can do something IF THEY HAVEN'T HAD EXPERIENCE DOING THIS IN THE PAST?

According to Marjorie Dannenfelser, head of the Susan B Anthony List, "a group that seeks to elect female candidates who OPPOSE abortion", "He wants to say things that he thinks WE WANT TO HEAR", or 'sucking up' to certain people in plain lingo. "I'm not talking about the pro-life movement; I'm talking about the vast majority of Americans WHO DON'T WANT TO SPEND THEIR MONEY ON ABORTION". Oh, so this is still about "money" or finances.

DeLauro goes on to say: "It is a DIFFICULT issue. It's a SENSITIVE issue. It's a VERY EMOTIONAL issue" as if we need any more reminders of that. However, she goes on to insist that "THERE CERTAINLY IS common ground we have worked to achieve over a long period of time". People who are bogged down in their own little worlds in this contentious and often fiery debate may not see/realize/want to admit this.

Last Monday, Obama told ABC that "This is a HEALTH CARE bill, NOT AN ABORTION BILL" although this may not be apparent to people who are bogged down in this debate. "We're not looking to change what is the principle of what has been in place for a very long time, which is (the principle that) FEDERAL DOLLARS ARE NOT USED TO SUBSIDIZE ABORTIONS". This CLEARLY seems to conflict with Obama's selection of a pro-choice Supreme Court Justice.

Finally, according to Ralph Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition, described as "pro-family" which is presumably pro-life or against abortions, "YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS. If you're subsidizing private insurance policies, (then) you're either paying for it using tax dollars or you're not (yes, we have to bring this up again, because again, TAXPAYERS will be paying for whatever bill comes off of Capitol Hill, assuming that A BILL passes, ANY bill)" and in this case, WE DEFINITELY WILL BE. Reed's final comment is that abortion "looks like it is a major cleavage running through the Democratic Party, which has HUGE implications, not only for healthcare, BUT ALSO FOR THE 2010 ELECTION". So, at the end of the day, IT'S STILL POLITICS.