Chris
06-16-2014, 05:04 PM
I read a lot of confusing stories on this before I found some clarity: In ‘Right To Lie’ Case, SBA List Told Truth On Abortion Funding (http://thefederalist.com/2014/06/16/in-right-to-lie-case-sba-list-told-truth-on-abortion-funding/):
The unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision in Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus is an important victory for free speech. The court held that SBA List could bring a First Amendment challenge to an Ohio law that prohibits making “false statements” in an election campaign—a law that Rep. Steve Driehaus used to prevent SBA List from speaking out against his vote for Obamacare as authorizing taxpayer funds for abortion.
Predictably, leftwing commentators claim that the unanimous decision is about whether the pro-life group has a “right to lie” about Obamacare resulting in taxpayer funding of abortion. Other “mainstream” sources feed that narrative with the implication that “experts” say it isn’t true.
Some just pretend that it’s too complicated—requiring “strong coffee” (perhaps “above their pay grade”?) to discern whether Obamacare might actually facilitate taxpayer funding of abortion, thus claiming neutrality on that rather fundamental question. The result is that news coverage of a procedural question that is interesting to constitutional attorneys but not normal humans becomes a platform for media implications that SBA List “lied” about abortion and Obamacare.
The problem with the narrative is that SBA List told the truth: Obamacare uses taxpayer funding for abortion.
...
The rest of the article examines the evidence.
The unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision in Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus is an important victory for free speech. The court held that SBA List could bring a First Amendment challenge to an Ohio law that prohibits making “false statements” in an election campaign—a law that Rep. Steve Driehaus used to prevent SBA List from speaking out against his vote for Obamacare as authorizing taxpayer funds for abortion.
Predictably, leftwing commentators claim that the unanimous decision is about whether the pro-life group has a “right to lie” about Obamacare resulting in taxpayer funding of abortion. Other “mainstream” sources feed that narrative with the implication that “experts” say it isn’t true.
Some just pretend that it’s too complicated—requiring “strong coffee” (perhaps “above their pay grade”?) to discern whether Obamacare might actually facilitate taxpayer funding of abortion, thus claiming neutrality on that rather fundamental question. The result is that news coverage of a procedural question that is interesting to constitutional attorneys but not normal humans becomes a platform for media implications that SBA List “lied” about abortion and Obamacare.
The problem with the narrative is that SBA List told the truth: Obamacare uses taxpayer funding for abortion.
...
The rest of the article examines the evidence.