Some of you may be receiving letters back from Members of Congress corresponding to your phone calls and emails asking them not to support a bill that doesn’t have the explicit exclusion of abortion funding by taxpayers.

Some of the Congressional correspondence and other letters contain information about the healthcare bill and abortion coverage that is false. Here’s some of the myths, along with the corresponding facts:

MYTH: The abortion mandate is an email rumor; the word “abortion” does not appear in any of the major health care bills currently pending in the House and Senate.

FACT: The abortion mandate is very real. The absence of the word abortion is very reason why the proposed legislation will mandate abortion on virtually every American health care plan. Even if the Obama Administration did not mandate abortion coverage in writing, the courts have shown that they too will require an abortion mandate. For example, look no further than the federal Medicaid statute which does not mention the word abortion, yet Medicaid funded as many as 300,000 abortions per year prior to enactment of the Hyde amendment.

MYTH: The Obama administration doesn’t want to change the status quo with regard to abortion. They will not allow an abortion mandate.

FACT: The President himself said that reproductive care is at the heart of his health care plan. And Hilary Clinton has confirmed that the administration considers abortion to be part of reproductive health. Even if this were not the case and even under another administration abortion would still be mandated by the courts. More recently Office of Budget and Management Chief Peter Orszag told “FOX News Sunday” on July 19, 2009 that is not “prepared to rule [taxpayer funded abortion] out” of the healthcare legislation.

MYTH: The courts can’t mandate abortion coverage if abortion isn’t even written into the healthcare bill.

FACT: In the mid-1990s the Hyde amendment was adjusted to no longer ban Medicaid abortion funding in cases of rape and incest abortion. Even though the Medicaid statute didn’t refer directly to abortion, the reverted to the assumed mandate that abortion would be covered anyways. States that tried to refuse to pay for rape and incest abortions were overruled by courts that said because abortion falls under broad categories of care in the Medicaid statute, States must fund abortion even if it violates their individual state law.

MYTH: The so-called “Hyde Amendment” restricts federal funds from paying for abortions through Medicaid and applies in the healthcare bill.

FACT: Actually the health care overhaul bypasses the Hyde amendment. But even if it didn’t, we cannot be fooled by this pro-abortion “two-step.” If the Hyde amendment did apply it would still be subject to annual re-approval. It is clear that the goal is to confuse the public about the abortion mandate using claims like this one and then come back next year and remove the Hyde amendment.

If Representatives and Senators oppose taxpayer funding for abortion or plans that cover abortion, it only follows that such an explicit provision must be contained in the largest health care overhaul in the history of our nation.

MYTH: Please be assured, your tax dollars do not fund abortion services and it is against the law to use federal funds for this purpose.

FACT: This is an attempt to vaguely refer to the Hyde amendment. See FACT above.

MYTH: There are no plans in the current Congress to overturn pro-life laws nor to include coverage for abortion procedures in upcoming health care legislation. The Hyde amendment is safe.

FACT: As explained above, the Hyde amendment will not prevent the abortion mandate, because significant portions of proposed legislation is not subject to the Hyde amendment. Pro-abortion organizations, as well as President Obama, have made it abundantly clear that they believe abortion should be included in “reproductive healthcare.” And Speaker Nancy Pelosi won’t give a straight answer on whether or not abortion should be covered under the healthcare legislation. If taxpayer funded abortion is not being considered in the healthcare legislation, then why won’t lawmakers put a specific exclusion in the bill to rule it out?

While the Obama Administration and the Democratic Leadership dodge questions about this issue, the abortion lobby which ushered in this administration and leadership has made their expectations very clear.

• National Abortion Federation: NAF supports health care reform as a way to increase access to comprehensive reproductive health care, including abortion care, for all women.

• Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice: “Let there be no mistake, basic healthcare includes abortion services.” – Rev. Carlton Veazey

• NARAL Pro-Choice America: “(I)f, indeed, we can advance a panel or commission, then I am very optimistic about reproductive health care being part of this entire package.” – Nancy Keenan

• Planned Parenthood: “I think the big picture here is how do we make sure that all women and families, regardless of their income, can get access to the full range of health care options, and I think health care reform is going to provide a platform for doing that.” – Cecile Richards

MYTH: Proposed legislation maintains the status quo, but pro-life amendments go further than current law.

FACT: Permanent abortion funding bans are contained in other health care laws including Department of Defense health care coverage and the Children’s Health Insurance Plan. In the context of a total health care restructuring as being proposed, the same life affirming standard must apply.