Ten House Democrats who oppose abortion rights have turned the tables on the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), taking the group to task for not backing a bill to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

The anti-abortion rights group had taken aim at lawmakers who voted for an earlier House SCHIP bill, which included Medicare provisions that the NRLC maintains would lead to rationed care and government-sponsored euthanasia.

Those provisions were stripped, but the NRLC has not swung in favor of the SCHIP bill that Congress passed and President Bush vetoed. This has irked some of the group’s typical allies, who viewed its campaign as unfair.

Posing a rhetorical question to the NRLC, Ryan asked: “Why aren’t you supporting it now? Are you really concerned with protecting life or are you concerned with protecting the Bush administration?”

The NRLC tagged the earlier House SCHIP bill with a “key vote” designation, thereby tarnishing the “pro-life” credentials of lawmakers who voted for it. The group is neutral on the new SCHIP bill. Ryan suggested that an NRLC endorsement would be enough to tip the scales in favor of overriding Bush’s veto.

Ryan and nine other Democrats sent a letter to the NRLC Monday.

“As Democratic pro-life members of Congress, we were disappointed and dismayed when the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) announced in July that it was actively opposing the House-passed reauthorization of [SCHIP],” the letter says.

However, the NRLC maintains that the Democrats misconstrue their position on the Medicare issue and that they don’t have a stake in the SCHIP bill.  

“That letter mixes two issues that really have no relation to each other,” said Douglas Johnson, NRLC’s legislative director. “There’s nothing there [in the SCHIP bill] for us to really grab onto.”

The right-to-life group had wanted to codify an administration policy providing SCHIP coverage for unborn children — which most Democrats  believe should instead apply to the pregnant mothers — but got no support from Ryan and other Democrats who oppose abortion rights, Johnson added.

The Democratic letter went on to say that, with the Medicare language gone, they expect the NRLC “to join with other pro-life organizations and pro-life members of Congress in supporting the bill’s passage.” It specifically mentioned the backing of the Catholic Health Association.

The NRLC’s efforts appear to have been largely ineffective: Nearly all Democrats with “pro-life” track records backed both House SCHIP bills and the Senate versions. Of the 10 that signed Tuesday’s letter, only Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.) opposed the earlier House bill that included the Medicare provisions. Ellsworth and the others on the letter all voted for the final SCHIP bill, which is up for reconsideration Thursday to override Bush’s veto.