Senate bill would deal bigger blow to abortion rights than anything George Bush signed into law
Will the Pro-Choice Caucus Join Ben Nelson to Sell Out Choice?
By: Jane Hamsher
FireDogLake
Saturday March 13, 2010
Following the passage of the House health care bill, the outcry against Bart Stupak’s amendment from pro-choice members of Congress was stentorious. Rep. Diana DeGette and Rep. Louise Slaughter co-authored a letter signed by 41 members of Congress, which says quite clearly:
We will not vote for a conference report that contains language that restricts women’s right to choose any further than current law.
That seems pretty straight forward DeGette and Slaughter won’t say who signed the letter, though Jan Schakowsky, Mike Capuano, Mike Quigley, Carolyn Maloney, Judy Chu and Betsy Markey have all said that they did.
Jane Harman, Ann Kirkpatrick, Mary Jo Kilroy, Gabby Giffords, Debbie Halvorsen, Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, Suzanne Kosmas, Carol-Shea Porter, Dina Titus, Rosa DeLauro, Shelley Berkeley, Tammy Baldwin and Chellie Pingree have all raked in big dollars from rich pro-choice donors over the years by pledging to defend a woman’s right to choose with their dying breath. They just don’t want to say whether they signed the letter or not.
So, does the language in the Senate bill negotiated to make Ben Nelson happy “restrict a woman’s right to choose any further than current law?” The answer is an unqualified “yes.” Let’s review:
* It allows states to opt out of allowing plans to cover abortion in the insurance exchanges, a clear violation of Roe v. Wade. Since some state medicaid programs cover abortion as long as it is paid for with state money, the Hyde amendment (current law) obviously does allow insurance to cover abortion as long as it is paid through a separate non-federal funds.
* It prohibits insurance companies by law from taking into account cost savings when estimating the costs of abortion care, which raises premiums, thus limiting access
* It includes “conscience clause” language that protects both individuals and entities that refuse to provide, pay for, provide coverage for, or refer for abortion.
(Original here.)
By: Jane Hamsher
FireDogLake
Saturday March 13, 2010
Following the passage of the House health care bill, the outcry against Bart Stupak’s amendment from pro-choice members of Congress was stentorious. Rep. Diana DeGette and Rep. Louise Slaughter co-authored a letter signed by 41 members of Congress, which says quite clearly:
We will not vote for a conference report that contains language that restricts women’s right to choose any further than current law.
That seems pretty straight forward DeGette and Slaughter won’t say who signed the letter, though Jan Schakowsky, Mike Capuano, Mike Quigley, Carolyn Maloney, Judy Chu and Betsy Markey have all said that they did.
Jane Harman, Ann Kirkpatrick, Mary Jo Kilroy, Gabby Giffords, Debbie Halvorsen, Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin, Suzanne Kosmas, Carol-Shea Porter, Dina Titus, Rosa DeLauro, Shelley Berkeley, Tammy Baldwin and Chellie Pingree have all raked in big dollars from rich pro-choice donors over the years by pledging to defend a woman’s right to choose with their dying breath. They just don’t want to say whether they signed the letter or not.
So, does the language in the Senate bill negotiated to make Ben Nelson happy “restrict a woman’s right to choose any further than current law?” The answer is an unqualified “yes.” Let’s review:
* It allows states to opt out of allowing plans to cover abortion in the insurance exchanges, a clear violation of Roe v. Wade. Since some state medicaid programs cover abortion as long as it is paid for with state money, the Hyde amendment (current law) obviously does allow insurance to cover abortion as long as it is paid through a separate non-federal funds.
* It prohibits insurance companies by law from taking into account cost savings when estimating the costs of abortion care, which raises premiums, thus limiting access
* It includes “conscience clause” language that protects both individuals and entities that refuse to provide, pay for, provide coverage for, or refer for abortion.
(Original here.)
Powered by Blogger
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home