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OCTOBER 19, 2021

Meyerson on TAP

Manchin 'Pro-Life' Right Up Until Birth

If Medicaid is expanded in the BBB, the senator doesn't want it to
cover abortions.

What with all the cutbacks and strictures that Joe Manchin has demanded
in return for his vote for the Build Back Better bill, you may have
missed his declaration that the bill will have to include the Hyde
Amendment, which forbids any Medicaid spending for abortions. As the
bill may include an expansion of Medicaid in the 12 Republican-run
states that have refused federal funds to cover more people under the
program, the question of whether Hyde will be linked to that expansion
is very much at issue.

Along with Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, Manchin is one of the two Senate
Democrats who describe themselves as "pro-life." Neither he nor
Casey is as adamantly anti-choice as their Republican colleagues; at
various times, Manchin has voted both to fund and defund Planned
Parenthood. But quite unlike Casey, who supports the BBB bill,
Manchin's views fit the memorable description that Barney Frank once
delivered of Republican viewpoints. "Sure, they're pro-life,"
Frank said. "They're pro-life from conception to birth."

Once babies emerge from uteri, Manchin's concern for their well-being
plummets to Republican levels. He's opposed to continuing the Child
Tax Credit, which, when fully implemented, is predicted to halve the
rate of child poverty. He demands that the program be winnowed down to
the point that eligibility is largely curtailed, and what remains is
barely accessible. His opposition to BBB provisions that would combat
the climate catastrophe condemns today's newborns and little ones to
life on a burning planet.

Manchin calls himself a good Catholic, and by the criteria preferred by
the right-wingers among America's bishops, he would continue to
receive the Communion they'd like to deny to such pro-choice electeds
as President Biden and Speaker Pelosi. The bishops have yet to deliver
their final ruling on this Communion denial business, and it likely
won't carry the day. If it actually were to become policy, however,
you'd think harming children post-birth would be viewed as seriously
as truncating pregnancies.

We've surely not heard the last of Manchin's demands. His penchant
for paradox (fetus, yes; child, no!) may not be exhausted. Will he call
for work requirements for paid family leave? Should parents of newborns
have to work through their leaves? Inquiring minds want to know.

~ HAROLD MEYERSON

Follow Harold Meyerson on Twitter

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What If Build Back Better Builds Back Worse?

Joe Manchin's prescriptions for the Biden bill in some cases even fall
short of the status quo. BY DAVID DAYEN

Mississippi's Originalism

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health and the attack on sexual freedom BY
MARC SPINDELMAN

The 'War on Terror' Accelerates in Africa

Military-first policy failed Afghanistan. So why is Biden continuing the
approach? BY STEPHANIE SAVELL

⏩ Alexander Sammon on the Implosion of Centrism

Staff Writer Alexander Sammon sits down with the hosts of the Due
Dissidence podcast to elaborate on the humiliating collapse of centrism.
BY PROSPECT STAFF

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