The vote was 65-31.
Senate Votes to Approve Pro-Abortion Obama HHS Nominee Kathleen Sebelius
The Senate voted on a lopsided 2-1 margin in favor of pro-abortion Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to become the next Health Secretary. Pro-life groups had opposed her nomination because of her lengthy pro-abortion record voting pro-life bills and her close connection with a late-term abortion practitioner.
Senators voted 65 to 31 on Tuesday to confirm Sebelius as the secretary of Health and Human Services, approving yet another of President Barack Obama's pro-abortion nominees.
As the health secretary, Sebelius could have an impact in crafting a health care plan that could cover abortions with taxpayer funds or require insurance companies to cover abortions in their plans.
Sebelius could also issue new regulations overturning the protections President Bush put in place that protect pro-life doctors and medical centers as the Obama administration has proposed doing.
During the debate leading abortion advocates promoted her for the position and used the recent swine flu epidemic as rationale to support her.
Senator Mark Warner from Virginia said, “It is essential for the health of the nation that President Obama has in place and the nation has in place a strong secretary of health and human services to make sure that our federal efforts on this potential pandemic are ably coordinated.”
Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri added: "I want my colleagues to know that they are voting to confirm an extraordinary individual who will do an excellent job as secretary of Health and Human Services."
But the debate came as 32 members of the House called on Obama to withdraw Sebelius' nomination.
"We are deeply disappointed by this nomination and believe a nominee to such an important position should, at the very least, not have commitments to the morally reprehensible practice of providing abortion in almost every circumstance," they said in a letter.
Sebelius is most notorious for her close relationship with late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller, who has escaped prosecution and accountability thus far for allegedly repeatedly violating state abortion laws.
He's done so in part because of the lax standards of Sebelius and her political allies, to whom Tiller has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars. Governor Sebelius vetoed a bill last April that the legislature approved that would have strengthened the state's limits on late-term abortions. She vetoed another bill just days ago that would have required more information about why late-term abortions are done.
Sebelius went as far as to coordinate a secret event with Tiller at the governor's mansion that was criticized because her staff failed to officially report the event.
Her position favoring abortion is so radical and extreme that Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City called on her to stop receiving communion until she disowns her support for the "serious moral evil" of abortion.
Leading pro-life groups have unanimously blasted the potential of Sebelius serving as Health Secretary because of her longstanding pro-abortion record.
"Sebelius is joined at the hip with the abortion industry," Troy Newman, the president of Operation Rescue, tells LifeNews.com. "She owes them her political career and has been more than willing to pay them back with personal favors that have shielded them from legislation and criminal prosecution. Her corrupt abortion politics make her unfit to serve."
Obama was forced to select someone else for the top health post because his previous selection, pro-abortion former Sen. Tom Daschle, removed his name from consideration after a scandal over his not paying taxes properly.
A potential post in the Obama administration would help pro-life efforts in Kansas if only by removing Sebelius from office. It may also mean she will not run for Senate in 2010, where she was seen as a leading contender for the seat of pro-life Sen. Sam Brownback, who is expected to run for governor.
Senate Vote Tally on Nomination of Pro-Abortion Kathleen Sebelius
| Alabama: | Sessions (R-AL), Not Voting | Shelby (R-AL), Nay |
| Alaska: | Begich (D-AK), Yea | Murkowski (R-AK), Nay |
| Arizona: | Kyl (R-AZ), Nay | McCain (R-AZ), Nay |
| Arkansas: | Lincoln (D-AR), Yea | Pryor (D-AR), Yea |
| California: | Boxer (D-CA), Yea | Feinstein (D-CA), Yea |
| Colorado: | Bennet (D-CO), Yea | Udall (D-CO), Yea |
| Connecticut: | Dodd (D-CT), Yea | Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea |
| Delaware: | Carper (D-DE), Yea | Kaufman (D-DE), Yea |
| Florida: | Martinez (R-FL), Nay | Nelson (D-FL), Yea |
| Georgia: | Chambliss (R-GA), Nay | Isakson (R-GA), Nay |
| Hawaii: | Akaka (D-HI), Yea | Inouye (D-HI), Yea |
| Idaho: | Crapo (R-ID), Nay | Risch (R-ID), Nay |
| Illinois: | Burris (D-IL), Yea | Durbin (D-IL), Yea |
| Indiana: | Bayh (D-IN), Yea | Lugar (R-IN), Yea |
| Iowa: | Grassley (R-IA), Nay | Harkin (D-IA), Yea |
| Kansas: | Brownback (R-KS), Yea | Roberts (R-KS), Yea |
| Kentucky: | Bunning (R-KY), Nay | McConnell (R-KY), Nay |
| Louisiana: | Landrieu (D-LA), Yea | Vitter (R-LA), Nay |
| Maine: | Collins (R-ME), Yea | Snowe (R-ME), Yea |
| Maryland: | Cardin (D-MD), Yea | Mikulski (D-MD), Yea |
| Massachusetts: | Kennedy (D-MA), Not Voting | Kerry (D-MA), Yea |
| Michigan: | Levin (D-MI), Yea | Stabenow (D-MI), Yea |
| Minnesota: | Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea | |
| Mississippi: | Cochran (R-MS), Nay | Wicker (R-MS), Nay |
| Missouri: | Bond (R-MO), Yea | McCaskill (D-MO), Yea |
| Montana: | Baucus (D-MT), Yea | Tester (D-MT), Yea |
| Nebraska: | Johanns (R-NE), Nay | Nelson (D-NE), Yea |
| Nevada: | Ensign (R-NV), Nay | Reid (D-NV), Yea |
| New Hampshire: | Gregg (R-NH), Yea | Shaheen (D-NH), Yea |
| New Jersey: | Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea | Menendez (D-NJ), Yea |
| New Mexico: | Bingaman (D-NM), Yea | Udall (D-NM), Yea |
| New York: | Gillibrand (D-NY), Yea | Schumer (D-NY), Yea |
| North Carolina: | Burr (R-NC), Nay | Hagan (D-NC), Yea |
| North Dakota: | Conrad (D-ND), Yea | Dorgan (D-ND), Yea |
| Ohio: | Brown (D-OH), Yea | Voinovich (R-OH), Yea |
| Oklahoma: | Coburn (R-OK), Nay | Inhofe (R-OK), Nay |
| Oregon: | Merkley (D-OR), Yea | Wyden (D-OR), Yea |
| Pennsylvania: | Casey (D-PA), Yea | Specter (R-PA), Yea |
| Rhode Island: | Reed (D-RI), Yea | Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea |
| South Carolina: | DeMint (R-SC), Nay | Graham (R-SC), Nay |
| South Dakota: | Johnson (D-SD), Yea | Thune (R-SD), Nay |
| Tennessee: | Alexander (R-TN), Nay | Corker (R-TN), Nay |
| Texas: | Cornyn (R-TX), Nay | Hutchison (R-TX), Nay |
| Utah: | Bennett (R-UT), Nay | Hatch (R-UT), Nay |
| Vermont: | Leahy (D-VT), Yea | Sanders (I-VT), Yea |
| Virginia: | Warner (D-VA), Yea | Webb (D-VA), Yea |
| Washington: | Cantwell (D-WA), Yea | Murray (D-WA), Yea |
| West Virginia: | Byrd (D-WV), Yea | Rockefeller (D-WV), Not Voting |
| Wisconsin: | Feingold (D-WI), Yea | Kohl (D-WI), Yea |
| Wyoming: | Barrasso (R-WY), Nay | Enzi (R-WY), Nay |
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