Yesterday, Lynn Sweet reported that First Lady Michelle Obama would step up the administration’s efforts to promote breast feeding among American mothers as part of the Let’s Move! anti-childhood obesity campaign. On Thursday, the Internal Revenue Service also ruled that the costs for “breast pumps and supplies that assist lactation are medical care” would be eligible for tax breaks.

Ignoring the health benefits of breast feeding, Republicans immediately jumped on the news, with Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) saying, “To think that government has to go out and buy my breast pump…That’s the new definition of a nanny state.” Fox News’ Megyn Kelly presented a debate on the efficacy of promoting breastfeeding during her afternoon news program and featured former Concerned Women for America president Sandy Rios criticizing Obama for changing federal policy to disproportionately benefit the African American community. Rios also suggested that women who can’t easily breastfeed at work should “find a different boss”:

RIOS: You have to remember that seventy five percent of American women already breast feed. We’re talking about a problem that’s specifically in the black community and so for you to change federal law and IRS regulations and start forcing businesses to make accommodations for nursing women at their own expense to promote it in the black community is the problem that I have with it. I agree with Michele [Bachmann] this is the nanny state on steroids. [...]

I’m concerned about her trying to dictate and impose her ideas on women of all stripes, which is what I believe what she’s doing in this case. I think breast feeding is wonderful. And to the point of whether someone should have a room. Yes, I think if a boss doesn’t accommodate if you want to pump, you need to find a different boss.

Watch the segment:

Experts at the Centers for Disease Control estimate that lowering the barriers to breast feeding would help women of all races and prevent 15 to 20 percent of obesity. The World Health Organization has affirmed that the long-term benefits of breastfeeding include reduced risks of obesity and consequent type-2 diabetes, as well as lower blood pressure and total cholesterol levels in adulthood. In fact, a recent study found that if 90 percent of new mothers exclusively breastfed their infants for six months, it would prevent an estimated 911 deaths annually and save the nation at least $13 billion each year, including $592 million due to childhood obesity.

Under Section 4207 of the Affordable Care Act, employers will have to provide break time and a place for breastfeeding mothers to express milk and a new home visitation program will bring nurses into the homes of new moms to offer assistance, which offers an opportunity to promote breast feeding. The new child nutrition bill also tasks the the WIC program for low-income women to provide “more breastfeeding counseling and supplies to eligible mothers.”

Rejecting any “truce” on social issues, potential GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee told a pro-life fundraiser on Monday that the issue of abortion “transcends all of the political issues” and said that his potential presidential bid would seek to elevate the issue:

“For me this is an issue that — as I’ve said before — it transcends all of the political issues,” he said. “I’ve often said I would gladly lose an election before I would ever yield on the issue of the sanctity of human life.”

At the event, held at the Knoxville Convention Center, the former Arkansas governor confirmed he is “seriously looking at” running for president again in 2012 and may do if only to “elevate the issue of life.” Palm Christian Ministry arranged the dinner, which gave Huckabee an opportunity to meet with top sponsors of the event beforehand, according to the News Sentinel newspaper.

Watch it (via Kyle):

Of course, this is the kind of lip service that really falls apart on closer scrutiny. After all, if Huckabee really cared about reducing the country’s abortion rates, he would be loudly condemning the House Republicans’ proposal to cut funding to contraception and counseling. These services lower the number of unwanted pregnancies and decrease health care spending (for instance, it’s estimated that for every one dollar spent it saves $4 in prenatal, delivery, and postpartum services alone).

And then there is Huckabee’s support for rescinding the Affordable Care Act, which — despite the GOP claims of phantom abortion funding — would also have the effect of increasing the abortion rates. A 2010 study analyzing the impact of Massachusetts’ health reform on abortion rates fund that access to universal health coverage lead to a decrease in abortions by 1.5 percent during the first two years of the new health care program (2007-2009), despite the state’s much more liberal abortion coverage policies.

The bottom line is that women contemplating an abortion are far less likely to seek one if they can afford health insurance for themselves, and feel confident they can provide quality medical care to their newborn children. Given Huckabee’s opposition to health reform and his lack of a coherent alternative to increasing access, however, his pronouncements about the importance of life are hard to take seriously.

Below is a list of some of the health care related amendments Republicans are offering to the continuing budget resolution. Even though the Republicans on the Rules Committee indicated last night that they were more interested in enacting their $100 billion (but really, only about $60 billion) in proposed cuts than going after health reform in the CR, these amendments do target specific provisions, regulations and even the Justice Department’s efforts to defend the health care law:

- PENCE AMENDMENT NO. 11: Defund “Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. or any of the following affiliates of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.”

- FLEMING AMENDMENT NO. 55: Rescind the unobligated balance of funds for the Affordable Care Act.

- GARDNER AMENDMENT NO. 79: Cuts off funds to pay the salary “of any officer or employee of the Department of Health and Human Services who develops or promulgates regulations or guidance with regard to Exchanges.”

- GARDNER AMENDMENT NO. 82: Rescind the unobligated balance of funds for the Affordable Care Act.

- EMERSON AMENDMENT NO. 83: Cuts off funds to the IRS for the implementation of the individual mandate.

- GOHMERT AMENDMENT NO. 119: Cuts off funds “to carry out any program under, promulgate any regulation pursuant to, or defend against any lawsuit challenging” the Affordable Care Act.

- GINGREY AMENDMENT NO. 182: “None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to establish or implement any requirement that individuals receive vaccination for human papillomavirus (HPV) as a condition of school admittance or matriculation.”

- GINGREY AMENDMENT NO. 183: Defunds family planning services.

- BURGESS AMENDMENT NO. 200: “None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to pay the salary of any officer or employee of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight in the Department of Health and Human Services.” The Center is helping HHS to implement many of the provisions of the legislation that address private health insurance.

- SCALISE AMENDMENT NO. 204: Cuts off funds to pay salaries and expenses for the Director of the White House Office of Health Reform.

- UPTON AMENDMENT NO. 215: “None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to implement, administer, or enforce” the grandfather regulations issued by HHS.

- MCMORRIS RODGERS AMENDMENT NO. 274: “None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to pay any employee, contractor, or grantee of the Internal Revenue Service to implement or enforce” the Affordable Care Act.

- POE (TX) AMENDMENT NO. 403: “None of the funds made available by this Act may be appropriated to any agency for any activities in anticipation of, or related to implementing, administering, or enforcing the individual mandate” in the Affordable Care Act.

Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY), who has been leading the charge on holding Republicans accountable for accepting government-administered health insurance, has also offered an amendment requiring members to ‘notify the Clerk’ if they receive health benefits through the FEHBP (a similar measure was voted down earlier this year.) Another amendment would prohibit the government from taking away the Medicare checks seniors received to help close the doughnut hole in Part D.

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) has promised to lead the charge in defunding the Affordable Care Act since President Obama signed the law in March of 2010, but last night, his effort faced a setback after Republicans on the House Rules Committee refused to “grant a waiver for the consideration of an amendment to the 2011 funding bill that would bar mandatory spending” for the health law. House rules stipulate that “members cannot legislate on appropriations bills,” which King’s amendment would have done by eliminating $105 billion in mandatory spending from the health law.

But Republicans on the committee argued that the party would be better served by focusing on the $100 billion in cuts offered in the GOP’s continuing resolution proposal and suggested that King’s amendment would be dead on arrival in the Senate and would therefore jeopardize the party’s cherished spending cuts.

REP. PETE SESSIONS (R-TX): “This is a big week in Washington DC for the $100 billion and I just want you to know, I’m very focused on the amendments that you’re bringing, the ideas that you bring. I’m also very focused on getting the $100 billion done as best as we can, knowing that we have tried to sell this across the country. We would want to put pressure on the Senate and the President with actual spending this year.”

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) reiterated Sessions’ point and added that King would have opportunities to add his amendment to other appropriations bill. She maintained that granting a modified open rule would open the party to charges of procedural gimmickry.

REP. VIRGINIA FOXX (R-NC): “You are asking us to change the rules here in the Rules Committee and what that does is open us up to the same accusations that were made of our colleagues across the aisle over the last four years in terms of them not being fair to us. And I think that’s’ putting us in a very hard position.”

Watch a compilation:

King dismissed these worries and maintained that the continuing resolution offered Republicans the best opportunity and the greatest leverage to go after the mandatory spending in the law. “There is $4.9 billion in this fiscal year that’s automatically appropriated and then the balance of it, roughly another $100 billion gets automatically appropriated to implement Obamacare unless we find a vehicle to shut it off Obamacare will be implemented and it can happen on our watch while we’re cutting a couple of billion,” he cautioned.

King said he still plans to offer his amendment on the floor, although he concedes that it will probably fall to a point of order. Republicans are also planning to offer a separate amendment that would defund the discretionary spending for this year.