The Clash of Two Goods

Details: 27 April 2012

Two years ago, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS) was notified that it had been improperly providing prenatal care through Medicaid for the unborn children of certain categories of low income mothers. Although the state had to stop providing prenatal care to these populations through Medicaid it was possible to continue the coverage under other programs.

However, one of those categories of pregnant mothers—those who are in our country illegally—presented lawmakers with a clash of two goods. On one hand, there was the good of upholding and enforcing our immigration laws.

On the other hand, there was the good of providing important prenatal care to innocent and vulnerable unborn children who have no immigration status and who will be United States Citizens upon their birth in this country.

Furthermore, the federal/state program under which these unborn children qualify for prenatal coverage—called CHIP (Childrens’ Health Insurance Program)—regards the child as the recipient of health care services and includes unborn children from conception. This is known as the "unborn child option" under CHIP and was established by the George W. Bush Administration.

The NDHHS decided they wouldn’t pursue the "unborn child option" without the Legislature’s authority. Perhaps due to some naiveté on my part, I thought a largely prolife Legislature and Governor would choose the good of prenatal care over strict adherence to immigration laws, especially since the primary beneficiary of prenatal care is not the undocumented mother but her unborn child who is without immigration status and, it could be said, is a presumptive citizen.

My assumption turned out to be wrong. The Governor and several pro-life senators, including some who have introduced and/or prioritized past pro-life legislation, made a judgment call to err on the side of upholding immigration laws. As a result, Legislation introduced in the 2010 Unicameral session to restore funding for prenatal care for the unborn children of undocumented mothers never even received a vote.

Now fast forward to 2012 when another bill to restore prenatal care funding came before the full Legislature as LB 599. The issue was no less contentious this time around. Several pro-life senators and the Governor still opposed taxpayer funds being used to pay for prenatal services for unborn children of impoverished and undocumented mothers.

However, several previously undecided senators chose to support LB 599. And, perhaps most important, the Speaker of the Legislature, pro-life Sen. Mike Flood, put his considerable influence and credibility behind passage of LB 599.

As a result, the Legislature, following several hours of debate, advanced LB 599 through three rounds of debate with no less than 30 votes each time. This is a remarkable turnaround given that there was insufficient support for the bill two years ago to even get a vote of the full Legislature.

Twenty-five votes are needed to advance most bills in our Legislature. However, with the Governor threatening to veto this bill, the 30 vote threshold was important as this is the minimum number of votes needed to override a Governor’s veto. The Governor did veto the bill and, in the end, 30 senators voted to override and enact LB 599 into law. A report of how each senator voted can be seen on the Nebraska Catholic Conference website at www.nebcathcon.org.

This was an extraordinarily contentious and challenging debate for the Legislature given this clash between two goods. It was also more challenging for my office and some other pro-life groups given that we were on opposite sides of LB 599 with some senators who are usually the pro-life movement’s strongest allies. For reasons my office and the Nebraska Catholic Conference articulated on our website, we disagree with, and are disappointed by, these senators’ votes against LB 599.

Nonetheless, I recognize that it would be unusual for like-minded individuals to never disagree on a public policy matter, especially where there is a clash of two goods. Consequently, this debate over LB 599 punctuated the importance, particularly in the legislative arena where opponents on one issue can be allies on another, to disagree with charity.

You can contact Greg at The Nebraska Catholic Conference, 215 Centennial Mall South Suite 310, Lincoln, NE 68508; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.