Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee: Repealing ObamaCare Would Be 'Unconstitutional

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said Tuesday that repealing Democrats' national health care overhaul law would violate the U.S. Constitution -- a claim strikingly contrary to many Republicans' claim that the law itself is unconstitutional.

During a meeting of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee Tuesday, Jackson Lee and her Democratic colleagues discussed Republicans' efforts to repeal the law. According to Jackson Lee, passing the GOP's repeal bill -- H.R. 2 -- would violate the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause because it would leave some Americans uninsured:

Later, on the floor of the House of Representatives, Jackson Lee expanded her case, claiming a repeal of the health care law would also violate the Constitution's Fifth Amendment guarantees of due process.

“The Fifth Amendment speaks specifically to denying someone their life and liberty without due process," the Texas Democrat said. "That is what H.R. 2 does and I rise in opposition to it. And I rise in opposition because it is important that we preserve lives and we recognize that 40 million-plus are uninsured," she said.

"Can you tell me what’s more unconstitutional than taking away from the people of America their Fifth Amendment rights, their Fourteenth Amendment rights, and the right to equal protection under the law?”

"This bill has been vetted. This bill is constitutional and it protects the Constitutional rights of those who ask the question: ‘Must I die? Must my child die, because I am now disallowed from getting insurance?'" (h/t AmSpectator)