STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES:

If only unborn children could vote (Kathleen Parker, October 2, 2002, Townhall.com)

Time and again, George W. Bush gets what he wants by forcing his opponents to argue against themselves. He did it with the United Nations in seeking support against Iraq: Hey, they're your resolutions. Either they mean something or they don't.

Now he's done it again with a new federal regulation that identifies fetuses as "unborn children," all in the name of extending prenatal health benefits to the preborn poor. By identifying fetuses as "unborn children," Bush effectively has managed to establish personhood for fetuses while appearing to care deeply for the huddled masses.

Arguing against themselves with Pavlovian predictability, pro-abortion feminists find themselves in the untenable position of rejecting a "gift" offered to their own constituents. Nice pool, Blofeld, but I'm allergic to piranha.

The new regulation, which goes into effect in November, allows states to use the State Children's Health Insurance Program to provide benefits to pregnant mothers, including illegal immigrants. The health of the unborn is vital to the well-being of the eventually born, as Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson pointed out.

Inarguably, he's right. Prenatal care, often neglected among the poor, is critical to healthy mothers and healthy babies. Given that babies born in this country are U.S. citizens even if their mothers are not, prenatal care makes sense for illegal pregnant immigrants, right?

Except, wait, but. Since when do Republicans care about poor pregnant women, legal or otherwise? Thompson to the microphone:

"This is a common-sense, compassionate measure to make sure that all children born in this country come into the world as healthy as possible," said Thompson. "It's another way to secure a safety net of care for our children and their mothers." Keywords: Common sense. Compassionate. Children. Mothers. Who could argue against those?

And they said this president was stupid.

If you have any doubt that this is true, check out today's Diane Rehm Show:

Health Care Benefits for Fetuses

The Bush administration has expanded eligibility of federally subsidized health care for children to include fetuses. A panel discusses the new regulation and its implications for low income mothers.

Julie Rovner, special correspondent for Congress Daily and policy reporter for National Public Radio
Laurie Rubiner, National Partnership for Women and Families
Dr. Christina Beato, principal deputy assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services

Ms Rubiner, who is theoretically in favor of women's health, sat there and vehemently opposed the new coverage because it "only affects fetuses." At one point she actually argued that the plan is intended to pit women against their fetuses because it will give the fetuses rights. Apparently allowing the fetuses to be aborted at will is a show of mother/child solidarity? There's even a chilling call at one point from a woman whose voice just drips with contempt as she spits out the word "fetus". They truly sounded deranged. Posted by Orrin Judd at October 2, 2002 11:34 PM