President Barack Obama paired his formal announcement of his nomination of pro-abortion Catholic Kathleen Sebelius as secretary of Health and Human Services with a second appointment: that of Nancy-Ann DeParle as head of the White House Office for Health Reform.

In announcing the appointments, Obama stressed Sebelius and DeParle will work together closely on pushing Obama’s health-care reform plan. And according to Lifenews.com, DeParle — like her new health-care colleague Sebelius — has a record as a pro-abortion advocate.

Serving in the Clinton administration as administrator of the federal Health Care Financing Administration, DeParle refused to approve Virginia Gov. James Gilmore’s child health insurance plan.

DeParle, who is married to New York Times reporter Jason DeParle, refused to approve the Virginia plan because it would not have funded abortions in cases of rape or incest for uninsured, low-income women.

“All we’ve asked is that Virginia follow the law as it relates to the funding of abortions,” DeParle told The Washington Post, Lifenews reported. “All they have to say is, ‘Yes, Virginia will follow that law.’”

Meanwhile, CNN suggested Obama may find himself embroiled in an unwanted public battle with Senate Republicans over his appointment of Sebelius, who was castigated as an “enemy of the unborn” by Catholic League president Bill Donohue in this Feb. 19 statement.

“Do they want to be sucked in, if you will, to a fight over abortion? Or do they want to leave that for a summer battle over a Supreme Court nominee potentially?” David Brody, White House correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network, commented to CNN about the nomination of Sebelius. “That’s the danger here for the Obama administration, to be a distraction.”