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WASHINGTON, D.C., April 11, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) — The resignation of Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is drawing reactions across the political spectrum as Democrats praise her work with the Affordable Care Act and Republicans deride it. At the same time, pro-life leaders are slamming her record of abortion advocacy.

Operation Rescue President Troy Newman told LifeSiteNews the former Kansas governor “sulks away from HHS after implementing the most radical abortion policies outside of Communist China. Make no mistake, Sebelius' commitment to the abortion cartel is evident in the regulations she put in place.”

“Now she will retire,” said Newman, “and never have to live with the substandard health care that she's forcing the rest of us to digest.”

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In a public statement, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, was similarly critical. “Sebelius may be gone, but the problems with this law and the impact it’s having on our constituents aren’t. Obamacare has to go too.” McConnell called the Affordable Care Act “a rolling disaster.”

American Life League President Judie Brown was even more harsh in a public statement. “No tears will be shed for this woman whose resignation came exactly seven days prior to Holy Thursday, which for Catholics is the day Jesus Christ instituted the sacrament of Holy Eucharist-the changing of water and wine into His body and blood.”

“Sebelius repeatedly insulted the body of Christ by advocating for abortion, and as governor of the state of Kansas, Sebelius did all within her power to stymie the state attorney general's investigations into Planned Parenthood's various deadly practices,” Brown added.

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She also compared Sebelius to Judas Iscariot, saying that to call her “the female version” of the famous betrayer “does not even begin to define her wrongdoing.” 

But not everyone is so critical. At his new perch with Vox, left wing pundit Ezra Klein said Sebelius was resigning because “Obamacare has won.”

“Sebelius can leave with her head held high,” wrote Klein. “She can leave with the law she helped build looking, shockingly, like a success.”

Kentucky Democrat Rep. John Yarmuth said Sebelius is “a tireless public servant and fierce advocate.” He praised her for “working to ensure every American has access to affordable, quality health care, and overseeing key investments in groundbreaking medical research that is moving our nation forward and saving lives.”

This morning, President Obama said Sebelius had given “five years of extraordinary service to our country.”

Sebelius' timing has been questioned because she had indicated she would stay in her post until later in the year. Newsmax reports that some suspect the decision is related to the 2014 midterm elections. Quoting a former Clinton administration media advisor who said that Sebelius “has become a lightning rod,” the conservative magazine indicated the administration wanted to take a primary target of Affordable Care Act critics out of the picture.

Sebelius is a former governor of Kansas, and a pro-abortion Catholic whose bishop denied her Communion because of her publicly anti-Catholic viewpoints on policy. She began her term under pressure because of tax evasion, and ends it under criticisms related to the biggest change to the federal health care system in decades.