Bearing false witness is serious business. The person doing so is not only deceiving another person or persons,but breaking the ninth commandment,”You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16) There are numerous Scriptures that warn against lying,and of the importance of speaking the truth. God commands that we speak the truth,and as Christians we are to speak the truth in love.That is,with a desire that the person being spoken to will receive the truth and leave the falsehood that they have been promulgating.

The president spoke to 140,00 people of various “faith communities” about his health care plan. He referred to the issue of health care as a “core ethical and moral obligation”,and called on those listening to his call to mobilize and help pass his legislation. He also stated that,”you have heard that this is going to mean government funding of abortions.Not true.” This was stated in the context that those who are actively opposing his health care plan are “bearing false witness”. Is the president telling the truth or is he “bearing false witness” himself? Since the issue is abortion and we are talking about the murder of unborn children,we need to know . Here is some information from National Right to Life with a number of links that give additional information:

The Obama Administration, working with powerful Democratic leaders in Congress, is trying to smuggle into federal law sweeping expansions of access to abortion on demand, including federal funding of abortion, through “health care reform” legislation. The White House and congressional Democratic leaders are pushing for quick votes on these bills. If enacted in their current form, these bills would result in the greatest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade. To read a summary of the current legislative situation and to learn what you can do to help, click here.

FactCheck.Org:  “Which Side is Fabricating on Abortion?” The independent FactCheck.org has examined President Obama’s August 19 claim that it is “not true” and “a fabrication” that his health plan will “mean government funding of abortion,” and NRLC’s challenge to the Obama claim.  Read the full FactCheck.org article here.

Obama Says “Government Funding of Abortion” is “Fabrication,” But the White House-Backed House Bill Explicitly Authorizes It – August 19, 2009

Key Points on Pro-Abortion Provisions in Obama-Backed Health Care Bills — August 26, 2009 (PDF

Here  are some of the observations made by FactCheck:

Analysis   ( From Fact Check)

Obama’s “Fabrications” Remark

Obama’s remarks Wednesday came during a telephone conference call to thousands of listeners, organized by religious organizations supporting his health care proposals. He said that “there has been a lot of misinformation in this debate, and there are some folks out there who are frankly bearing false witness.” And then he lumped in abortion coverage at the end of a list of claims that he branded as untrue:

Obama, Aug. 19: We are closer to achieving that reform than we have ever been. And that’s why we’re seeing some of the divisive and deceptive attacks. You’ve heard some of them. Ludicrous ideas. Let me just give you one example, this notion that we are somehow setting up “death panels” that would decide on whether elderly people get to live or die. That is just an extraordinary lie. This is based on a provision in the House legislation that would allow Medicare to reimburse you if you wanted counseling on how to set up a living will or other end of life decisions. Entirely voluntary, it gives you an option that people who can afford fancy lawyers already exercise. That’s the kind of distortion that we’ve been hearing too much of out here.

We’ve heard that this is all designed to provide health insurance to illegal aliens. That’s not true. There’s a specific provision in the bill that does not provide health insurance for those individuals. You’ve heard that there’s a government takeover of health care. That’s not true. You’ve heard that this is all going to mean government funding of abortion. Not true. This is all, these are all fabrications that have been put out there in order to discourage people from meeting what I consider to be a core ethical and moral obligation, and that is that we look out for one another, that I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper. And in the wealthiest nation on earth right now, we are neglecting to live up to that call.

The White House did not post any transcript of the president’s words, but sponsors of the conference call, a coalition of faith-based groups supporting an overhaul of the health insurance system, posted the full audio of the president’s call on its Web site. His words come near the very end of the recording, and we transcribed them from the recording.

Abortion foes quickly denounced Obama’s statement as untrue. The NRLC’s Johnson said “the bill backed by the White House (H.R. 3200) explicitly authorizes the government plan to cover all elective abortions.” And our analysis shows that Johnson’s statement is correct. Though we of course take no position on whether the legislation should allow or not allow coverage for abortions, the House bill does just that.

The House leadership’s bill (H.R. 3200) actually made no mention of abortion when it was introduced. Johnson refers to an amendment to the bill adopted by the House Energy and Commerce Committee July 30. Abortion rights proponents characterize it as a compromise, but it hasn’t satisfied the anti-abortion side. Offered by Democratic Rep. Lois Capps of California, the amendment was approved narrowly by the committee, 30 – 28, with most but not all Democrats voting in favor and no Republicans backing it. The Capps amendment states that some abortions “shall” be covered by the “public option” plan, specifically those types of abortions that Congress allows to be covered under Medicaid, under the so-called “Hyde Amendment,” which has been attached regularly to appropriations bills for many years. These are abortions performed in cases or rape or incest, or to save the life of the mother.

As for other types of abortions, the Capps amendment leaves it to the secretary of Health and Human Services to decide whether or not they will be covered. It says, “Nothing in this Act shall be construed as preventing the public health insurance option from providing” abortion services that would not be legal for Medicaid coverage. Says the NRLC’s Johnson: “The Capps Amendment MANDATES that the public plan cover any Medicaid-fundable abortions, and AUTHORIZES the secretary to cover all other abortions. … [F]rom day one, she [Secretary Kathleen Sebelius] is authorized to pay for them all. And, she will.”

We can’t say what anyone will do in the future. But Obama himself said on July 17, 2007, that “[i]n my mind, reproductive care is essential care” and would be covered by his public insurance plan. He was addressing Planned Parenthood:

Obama, July 17, 2007: We’re going to set up a public plan that all persons and all women can access if they don’t have health insurance. It will be a plan that will provide all essential services, including reproductive services, as well as mental health services and disease management services, because part of our interest is to make sure that we’re putting more money into preventive care.

Obama has promoted abortion throughout his political career. It is also very obvious that he is bearing false witness on a number of issues related to his health plan( Sarah Palin vs. Dr. Death) . He,like all of us,will answer for his words and actions before a holy God.May we be found in Christ,and may we be truth tellers.

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.(Matthew 10:28)