The Bush administration is pushing a health care proposal that would classify a developing fetus in the womb as an unborn child, arguing that this will enable pregnant women to receive better prenatal care. The plan will make the fetus eligible for health care under the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Immediately, and rightfully so, the criticism started. Abortion rights supporters say the proposal is an attempt to criminalize abortion thinly disguised as a way to provide health care to poor women. They say it is the first step in establishing personhood for a fetus, and if the federal government establishes personhood for a fetus, then any abortion becomes murder punishable in the same way as any other murder. In short, this move by the administration is one to begin the process of overturning Roe v. Wade, ending legal abortions in this country.

The administration’s “health care for pregnant women” mantra is nothing more than a smokescreen. When President Bush made his highly controversial stem-cell decision, the religious right, a big reason Bush got elected, was outraged. This decision now is nothing more than appeasement to the pressure those interests have put on the administration in the months since the stem-cell decision.

If the administration truly cared about providing prenatal care to poor pregnant mothers, there are other ways, more logical ways, of doing it than reclassifying a fetus.

If the Bush administration is going to give health care insurance benefits to poor pregnant women, come out and do it. Extend Medicaid. Allow the women to receive the care they need during the months of their pregnancy.

But it’s more convenient for the administration to extend the CHIP program, which wasn’t designed for adults. That way, the child is covered, but technically, the mother isn’t. The mother is more than just a carrying vessel for the fetus. The health of the mother will determine the health of the child.

Our nation has a problem with health care. Tens of millions of people are without adequate health insurance coverage, and pregnant women are included in that number. Why not work toward bettering the system? Why not extend Medicaid benefits? There are other options for the administration other than a reclassification of a fetus. And the administration knows that.

The move is a dangerous slippery slope. How long will it be before the first abortion doctor is put on trial for murder? How long before Roe v. Wade falls?

This back-door method by the administration is nothing more than an attempt to undermine the rights of women. It reeks of political influence and partisan politics.

Poor women aren’t a concern. If they were, if the Bush administration truly and sincerely cared about the health of these women, something more would be done than political trickery.

editorialboard: Andrea Hauser, Tim Paluch, Michelle Kann, Omar Tesdell, Charlie Weaver