August 8, 2008

  • i love tom coburn :) 8 more days till the Call DC!

    Pro-Life
    Senator Tom Coburn, Under Fire for Delivering Babies For Free

    by
    Steven Ertelt
    LifeNews.com Editor
    August 7    ,
    2008

    Washington,
    DC (LifeNews.com) --     Members of the U.S. Senate don't typically
    earn money from another job after they're elected to the august body
    because of concerns that they will be unduly influenced by customers
    or colleagues. Oklahoma pro-life Sen. Tom Coburn is an OBGYN and is
    coming under fire for helping his patients.

    When
    he is not in Washington, Coburn works at the Muskogee Regional Medical
    Center.

    The
    hospital changed from a public one to private ownership in April and,
    following that decision, Coburn has come under fire for working there.
    However, Coburn changed his practice and now delivers babies at no
    cost.

    But
    that hasn't allayed the concerns of the Senate ethics committee, which
    is controlled by pro-abortion Democrats who have threatened Coburn
    with censure for delivering babies at the medical center.

    Coburn
    spokesman John Hart recently told The Hill newspaper that he thinks
    the charges are politically motivated by abortion politics.

    “The
    committee has shown us zero empirical evidence to back up its flimsy
    claim," he said.

    He
    cited other work other senators have done that was for commercial
    or private companies like pro-abortion Senator Pat Leahy, who recently
    appeared in a popular movie.

    “If
    Sen. Coburn can only deliver babies for free at a public hospital,
    shouldn't Sen. Leahy only be allowed to donate his notable thespian
    skills to a public entity like PBS?" he asked.

    “The
    parents of babies Dr. Coburn delivers don't choose him hoping to sway
    his vote, and they never have," he told The Hill.

    'In
    the 10 years Dr. Coburn has provided free healthcare to his neighbors
    while serving in Congress, the Ethics Committee has never pointed
    to a single conflict of interest. No lobbyist or any individual has
    ever attempted to infiltrate his medical office under the guise of
    an invasive medical exam to discuss Senate business," he concluded.

    Tony
    Perkins, the head of the Family Research Council said there is some
    hypocrisy involved. He said the pro-abortion senators targeting Coburn
    wouldn't have any concerns if he worked for Planned Parenthood doing
    abortions for free.