obama health care reform = anti-choice america??

finally getting around to reading about the abortion concession (the stupak amendment) made in the health care reform passed by the house of representatives-- i had NO idea the concession was so extreme! is this really the message we want to send on the eve of 2010? hey women, you want an abortion, pay for it out-of-pocket because we don't consider it a medical procedure worthy of the same coverage as any other health care service. are we really preparing to send more and more women for back-alley, coat-hanger abortions? this concession could have unimaginably horrific consequences for women's health should the senate pass the same version of the bill.

if this issue outrages you as much as it outrages me, please call the office of Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader. The only way to stop these restrictions from being part of health reform is to keep them out of the bill offered in the Senate, which is a process Reid is in control of this week. Call on Thursday, because the Senate won't be fully open tomorrow (info, phone # and script courtesy of my dear friend alison)

Reid's office number is 202-224-3542.

YOU: "Hello. I'm calling regarding abortion coverage in health-care
reform. I understand that we'll need to compromise on abortion issues
in order to pass the bill through the Senate, but I think the Stupak
amendment goes too far. It's more than just a ban on public funding in
health insurance. With the Stupak amendment, many women would lose the
coverage they already have. I'm calling to ask Senator Reid to include language in the Senate bill that is closer to the compromise language
that the Senate committees already approved."

also, here is an article on the stupak amendment:

House: Yes to Extreme Anti-Choice Politics, No to Women’s Health and Privacy

NARAL Pro-Choice America says fight is not over

November 7, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, called House passage of a stunning last-minute anti-choice amendment to health reform an outrageous blow to women's freedom and privacy — and she vowed to fight to remove this provision as the process goes to the Senate.

The amendment, offered by anti-choice Reps. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and Joe Pitts (R-Penn.), was adopted late tonight by a margin of 240-194.

The Stupak-Pitts amendment makes it virtually impossible for private insurance companies that participate in the new system to offer abortion coverage to women. This would have the effect of denying women the right to use their own personal private funds to purchase an insurance plan with abortion coverage in the new health system — a radical departure from the status quo. Presently, more than 85 percent of private-insurance plans cover abortion services.

"This vote is a reminder to America's pro-choice majority that, despite our gains in the last two election cycles, anti-choice members of Congress still outnumber our pro-choice allies," Keenan said. "It is unconscionable that anti-choice lawmakers would use health reform to attack women's health and privacy, but that's exactly what happened on the House floor tonight. Even though the bill already included a ban on federal funding for abortion and a requirement that only women's personal funds could pay for abortion care, Reps. Stupak and Pitts took their obsession with attacking a woman's right to choose to a whole new level. We will hold those lawmakers who sided with the extreme Stupak-Pitts amendment accountable for abandoning women and capitulating to the most extreme fringe of the anti-choice movement. In short, the fight is not over. That's why we will continue to mobilize our activists and work with our allies in Congress to remove this dangerous provision from the health-care bill and stop additional attacks as the process moves to the Senate."

ARTICLE CONTINUES AT:

http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/news/press-releases/2009/pr11072009_househcrbillstupak.html