Immigration foes, abortion opponents clash in Neb.

[pampango]

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/03/24/20100324neb-prenatal0324.html

"Nebraska long has regarded itself as a staunchly anti-abortion state. But for months, the state has wrestled with an issue that pits its signature conviction against another belief - that illegal immigrants should not receive tax-supported services. So two viewpoints collided with this question: Should Nebraska pay for prenatal care for the unborn children of illegal immigrants?

"The key issue," said Republican Gov. Dave Heineman, who opposes abortion rights, "is whether illegal immigrants should be receiving taxpayer-funded benefits." His opposition to the bill led to a victory for anti-immigration forces, shocking many who viewed Nebraska's anti-abortion stance - and, by extension, its commitment to the unborn - as inviolable.

The issue arose unexpectedly in December. For decades, Nebraska mistakenly allowed illegal immigrants to receive prenatal care under Medicaid, even though they were not eligible for the program. When federal officials realized the error, they ordered Nebraska to stop, ending service for about 850 pregnant women. Some lawmakers quickly defined the situation as a pro-life and pro-child issue and moved to fill the gap in coverage, introducing a bill to enroll the fetuses in a children's insurance program that uses both state and federal dollars and would permit coverage, regardless of the mothers' legal status.

Yet sentiment against illegal immigration has grown strong in the state in recent years. Heineman's opposition to in-state college tuition for the children of illegal immigrants helped secure his 2006 victory, said John Hibbing, a political science professor at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. "What makes this fascinating is the usual conservative confluence of anti-immigration and pro-life is being pulled apart. People are having to make a choice on those things," Hibbing said. "I don't think we've ever had to pick before."

[Dappleganger]

1. So which do they hate worse?

Immigrants or poor babies and their moms?

[my2sense]

2. This will be interesting to watch

Let's see what is really most important to these folks, and I don't think it will be the pro-life issue.

[Xipe Totec]

3. Baby killers! nt