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Will Health Care Reform Protect Your Reproductive Rights?Well, many of us thought this day would never come: the House of Representatives is finally prepared to vote on the Affordable Health Care for America Act. It's hard to understate the historic nature of this particular vote. President Roosevelt — the first one, in 1912 — campaigned on a promise of health care reform, and nearly 100 years later, a comprehensive health reform bill has yet to make it to the floor for a vote. If it comes to the floor for a vote — anti-choice lawmakers, led by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), are threatening to use procedural maneuvers to derail health care reform over abortion. Pro-choice advocates had hoped beyond hope that abortion would be treated like any other health care service during health reform. Throughout their lives, women access a broad continuum of reproductive health care services, including contraceptive services, prenatal care, and abortion, and we asked for a principled approach to health care reform that would reflect that reality. But politics and ideology have made that impossible. Instead, lawmakers have crafted a compromise position, often referred to as the Capps Amendment, that would maintain the status quo and advance neither a pro- nor anti-choice agenda — and therefore convince enough anti-choice Democrats to vote for the bill to ensure its passage. So, the wonky details: the Capps Amendment would prohibit abortion from being included in the basic, standard health benefit package that insurance companies would have to make available under health care reform, but would require that at least one plan in the Exchange cover abortion and that at least one not cover abortion. It would also mandate that plans that do cover abortion segregate their funds and ensure that only private premiums (and not federal dollars) are used to cover abortion. The public plan would cover abortion in the case of rape, or incest, or when a woman's life is threatened by a pregnancy (the status quo for public funding for abortion care), and the Secretary of Health and Human Services would be allowed to determine whether the public plan could cover abortion in additional circumstances. The pro-choice community has accepted this compromise even though it is hard to swallow; it is less than what women need and deserve. But, the compromise is not enough for some anti-choice Democrats and Republicans. They want to use health care reform to impose unprecedented restrictions on women's access to abortion in the health care system. They wish to ban any plan that receives any federal dollars from covering abortion even though abortion funding would already come only from private funds under the current compromise. By attempting to ban plans from covering abortion, they intend to curtail access to abortion services even when a woman pays for her insurance with private funds and receives no federal subsidy. In other words, they want to take away women's access to health benefits they currently rely on. Because the House leadership may not allow an amendment to further limit abortion access, anti-choice members have threatened to vote against the Rule that would bring health care reform to the House floor. The Rule is the language setting the grounds for debate on a bill; unless the Rule passes, the bill cannot be considered. Or if that doesn't work, they may offer a "motion to recommit" on abortion that, if passed, would prohibit insurance companies in the Exchange from providing abortion coverage even if they want to. They are contemplating hijacking a whole bill with so much at stake for so many people over a health care service that should be a private decision between a woman and her doctor. <really big sigh> House Leadership has scheduled the health care reform vote for 6 p.m. on Saturday, November 7, but the debate might run into Sunday. So, we have until then to tell the House to support the Rule and oppose any and all attacks on reproductive rights in the health care reform bill. Please go to our Action Center, and call your Representative now.
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22 Responses to "Will Health Care Reform Protect Your Reproductive Rights?" |
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Nov 7th, 2009 at 9:58am
I don't believe that this is going to be affordable health coverage. I don't want taxpayers to pay for abortions. It seems to me that with all your talk about death penalty, torture etc this goes against what you supposedly stand for? It is taking a life no matter what form. If I have learned anything from the ACLU it is that life no matter what form is precious and should be treated with dignity. ACLU you have turned me from pro choice to pro life and I am very greatful. Thanks
Nov 8th, 2009 at 2:16am
A fetus is not a person child until it takes it's first breath and is disconnected from the mother! Get it? You may want to re-read a biology text. Abortion is a medical procedure, same as a vasectomy, a mastectomy, etc. It is the mother's life and choice, and is a decision between her and her doctor. That is the freedom that the ACLU stands for.
Nov 8th, 2009 at 12:01pm
If leaving abortion funding out of the bill will help it become law, that's a sacrifice that I'd be willing to make. First trimester abortions are relatively affordable procedures, equal to less than what my family would have to pay in a single monthly premium to a private insurer for basic health insurance. We need to keep our priorities straight.
Nov 8th, 2009 at 12:12pm
@ Maggie, apparently you don't understand what the ACLU stands for. We want to protect the right of a woman to choose whether or not she is going to carry her pregnancy to term, and agree with the SCOTUS that each individual has a constitutional right to privacy and bodily soverignty. We do not believe that the government should have the power to force their morality on women and teenage girls by forcing them to give birth against their will. These are the freedoms that the ACLU stands up for. We do not believe that embryos and fetuses are constitutional equivalents of human beings that are independent and can survive outside of another's body. The Supreme Court has agreed with us on many occasions.
Nov 8th, 2009 at 9:49pm
This is why compromising to these anti-choice folks and Republicans in general is absolutely pointless. They're ideologues, thus no compromise is good enough unless they get absolutely everything they want. Obama should save the compromising for the adults.
It's rather sickening that, time and again, women are treated as subhuman to a fetus that can't survive on its own, even ones without a nervous system! The anti-choicers give a heck of a lot more focus on fetuses than the women and girls who die resulting from no access to abortion and birth control. We just simply aren't seen as humans by these people, but mere incubators meant to serve a man and pop out babies.
The anti-choicer silence and opposition to anything to help parents bespeaks their actual reasons against abortion: hatred and fear of female sexuality and any sex outside of patriarchal marriage.
Nov 9th, 2009 at 8:40am
Murderers, sick and twisted killers is what you are if you support abortion. Get it? Maybe you should read a Bible.
Nov 9th, 2009 at 2:27pm
Anonymous if you had read the Gospels for a change instead of sticking to Leviticous you would hace known that Jesus respected women and had no patience for the self riteous.
Nov 9th, 2009 at 5:12pm
Women and men need to step up and take responsibility for their actions. Where ever life begins there are certainly a lot of methods to prevent it. But I suppose that would be to easy. Where would the ACLU stand if the government forced women and girls to have abortions? That is right they have a choice. But reading the ACLU comments on the death penalty and torture it has truly turned my thinking around. Sorry but you have lost 1 pro choice person.
Nov 9th, 2009 at 6:19pm
I am Pro Choice. I believe we should always choose to do what is right.
I guess what I can not understand is how women would freely allow her unborn child to be murdered. The fact that it is legal (if the mother does it) does not concern me as much as the fact that any women would choose to allow her unborn child to be killed. Everything about that screams Wrong, Wrong Wrong.
Many things have been and are legal in many societies. That is not the standard of what is right or wrong. There is a much deeper sickness here.
Lets make our freedom of choice a choice to do what’s right before we have intercourse and if we make a mistake or make the wrong choice lets have enough moral guts to step up to the plate and make the right choice.
Abortion is serious. We use it as a form of birth control and convenience so we won’t be inconvenienced. Please don’t tell me about rape or incest. I know the statistics (very few) and it’s not the baby’s fault.
Have enough respect for my beliefs to understand that I do not want my taxes to pay for abortion.
I don’t know much about the ACLU but the title of this blog would cause me to belive that they have an agenda and are not above slanting things in their favor. ie Reproductive Rights? Oh come on give us a break. If you were for “Reproduction Rights” you would be Pro Choice, Pro Reproduction. Hey, that’s got a ring to it.
Nov 9th, 2009 at 8:26pm
i am against war and torture. where is my right to segregate my funds?? currently 50% of my tax dollars goes to support war in foreign countries that i do not support. i do NOT want my tax funds going toward wars. Please RESPECT my moral beliefs.
Nov 9th, 2009 at 9:44pm
We need more people like Scott Roeder. A true guardian of civil liberties if I ever saw one.
Nov 9th, 2009 at 9:46pm
The Obama administration is selling its soul to get this bill through.
"More tears are caused by answered prayers than by unanswered prayers"
Nov 9th, 2009 at 9:50pm
Anonymous, murder is murder. I am pro-life but what this guy did to Dr. Tiller was wrong. Charose, children born pre-maturely cannot survive outside the womb. Does that make them any less human?
Nov 10th, 2009 at 10:03am
Dear Anonymous
Let’s be real here. We are talking about an unborn child who is being described as an unwanted piece of flesh until it is out of the womb. How about their rights? Torture? Describe a late term abortion to me with your pseudo compassion.
You talked about your taxes being spent to kill and torture. Sounds like abortion to me.
Or were you talking about the people who attacked our country on 9/11. The ones who kill and torture their own people and have sworn to do the same to us. Unfortunately we do need the police and the military to defend us. Have a few of them made mistakes and done bad things while defending and protecting us? Absolutely. We all have, but what alternative is there to contain the sickness that is rampant in this world and to defend the really free who are free to do what’s right of what’s wrong.
comonsense3@yahoo.com
Nov 10th, 2009 at 10:15am
JLW...we are not talking about an unborn child. We are talking about a embryo in the first two trimesters. Aren't third-term abortions are limited to cases where the mother's life is at risk or the fetus is significantly malformed? If so, does this change your feelings?
I also do not want my taxes being used to continue to pay for killing living, breathing people who had the misfortune to live in a country that has resources we want and a majority religion where a few of its adherents want to kill the majority of US citizens.
Nov 10th, 2009 at 2:12pm
I meant to address my post to s c. My mistake.
Nov 10th, 2009 at 2:36pm
What a joke,the war mongers are claiming to be pro-life.
Nov 12th, 2009 at 11:39am
I'm amazed this is even an issue considering the whole bill is Unconstitutional according to the 10th Amendment! It's not only a woman's reproductive freedom on the line, it's LIBERTY people! Wake up America! ACLU, you are supposed to defend the Bill of Rights! Last time I checked, the 10th Amendment is part of it! Pelosi is way out of line on this. Democrats want a "one size fits all" policy for America and this is what is exactly prohibited by the Founding Fathers! I do not understand how Democrats are ok with a mandate on everyone to buy insurance yet when Republicans want a mandate on a womans freedom, they go crazy and say it's not right! Obama makes the case that we will all save $900 a year and it helps the economy! Big wooooopie!!! Save a few bucks in exchange for a piece of Liberty! God help us if this passes!
Nov 12th, 2009 at 8:10pm
I am pro-life. I've raised my children so abortion is not an issue for me personally, but I am deeply interested for the women of this country. Please don't endorse taxpayer paid abortions through health insurance or any other means. Why would a women even need insurance that covered abortions unless she wanted to use it as a means of birth control? God forbid that any woman would ever consider more than one abortion! There are plenty of other means to prevent a pregnancy. Please use them! Please don't put yourself or some innocent baby through this needless travesty. I was adopted. Where would I be in my mom could have aborted me with gov't sponsored insurance? How easy do we need to make it for a mom to kill her inconvenient child. Furthermore, I did get pregnant out of wedlock (old fashioned word). It was 1966 and I'm so thankful that it wasn't easy to get an abortion then! My dear son David might never have been because I was young and scared. My parents even said they would haved helped me get an abortion if they could. At that time you had to have more money than we had to get rid of your child safely. Thank God we were poor and not well connected because the obstacles to getting an abortion saved me from a life of regret!
Nov 13th, 2009 at 3:50pm
anon #23, I am glad that things turned out well for you, but please do not assume that everyone is like and their circumstances are the same.
I offer that rather than birth control some women choose abortion due to rape, molestation, high risk of dying before giving birth, or knowledge that the embryo, if allowed to develop, would live a short, painful life.
Anyone who has received proper sex education knows that abortion is a risk risk procedure compared to conception-prevention and I further offer that all methods of contraception have a risk of failure, meaning that some couples will have that difficult decision every day.
I am interested in your thoughts about whether the contraceptive methods that prevent a fertilized ovum from attaching to the uterus constitute abortion, whether spermicides are appropriate as they kill living cells that could become children, whether barriers or hormonal methods are appropriate means of contraception, and whether all children whose parents allow should receive comprehensive sex education at an appropriate age. Thanks in advance.
Dec 7th, 2009 at 2:08am
I'd like the ACLU to protect my right NOT to buy health insurance at all. Hope the ACLU is not so bought and paid for by corporate interests that it is unwilling to go on standing up for individual liberties.
Dec 14th, 2009 at 2:52pm
If the ACLU were really representing our civil liberties there is no way they would support a health reform bill that puts the care and decisions I make concerning my body in the hands of the government.