Oppose the Senate's proposed abortion restrictions!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 11:57AM Eesha Pandit UPDATED after Senate passage of health care reform bill
This post is an updated version of an RWV Action Alert distributed to our network earlier this week. If you would like to receive alerts like this one, as well as our e-newsletter, sign up here.
On Christmas Eve, the Senate passed a health care reform bill that included outrageous and unworkable new abortion restrictions. If these restrictions are included in the final health reform legislation and become law:
- People who get health insurance through the new exchanges will have to write two checks for health insurance every month, one for abortion coverage and another one for the rest of their health care coverage.
- Women living in conservative states will be unable to buy health insurance that covers abortion because their state legislatures would opt-out of making it available.
- Industry analysts predict that insurance companies will respond by dropping policies that cover abortion because the restrictions will make it too much trouble and too costly to administer them. If that happens, women in politically moderate or liberal states won’t be able to buy health insurance that includes abortion coverage either.
Does this sound like health reform to you? No man would accept a policy that requires him to write one check for treatment of erectile dysfunction and one for everything else!
And the bill passed last month by the House of Representatives also includes new restrictions that would take insurance coverage for abortion away from women who have it now. Both bills break the promise of health care reform for women, creating new barriers to reproductive health care instead of improving access to services.
SPEAK OUT AGAINST THESE ABORTION RESTRICTIONS!
We must work together to fight these discriminatory policies. What can we do?
- Contact your Senators and your Representative today and tell them you oppose both the House abortion coverage ban and the new Senate abortion restrictions. Tell them the final health reform bill must drop these anti-woman provisions! Call them at 202-224-3121, or click on these links to send an email:
- Call the White House at 202-456-1111 and tell President Obama that this is not the health reform we were promised. Urge him to make sure the health reform bill he signs does not set back women's health coverage by restricting or deny access to abortion coverage.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
We must press hard to get the House-Senate conference committee to fix these unfair provisions. Keep up the pressure while members of Congress are in their districts for the holidays. And in January, be prepared to go all out again, as new actions will be launched to fight for reproductive justice in health reform!
WHY WE STILL SUPPORT HEALTH REFORM
As mad as we are over the abortion restrictions, we know the rest of the health reform bill includes some provisions that will dramatically improve health coverage for millions of Americans. What are these provisions?
Medicaid Expansion: Millions of low-income people will get health coverage for the first time. The income eligibility limit would go up (to 133% of poverty, under the Senate bill, and 150% under the House bill). Moreover, everyone earning less than that limit would get coverage. The current requirements that you fit into certain categories (such as pregnant women) would be abolished.
Affordability: Millions more Americans would become eligible to receive federal subsidies to help them buy health coverage.
No gender rating: Insurers would be barred from charging women more than men for the same policy.
No bans on coverage for people with pre-existing conditions: Insurers could no longer deny you coverage because you have a pre-existing condition like cancer.
Thank you for all your have done this year to make health reform a reality, and to fight for women's health needs!
Reader Comments (1)
The health care debate should focus on how we can support women's health and well-being by expanding access to health care and eliminating the double standard that treats a woman differently than a man when it comes to coverage. No woman should be worse off as a result of health care reform.
As a member of the Raising Women's Voices of Southeastern Pennsylvania, PathWays PA applauds the efforts of everyone who speaks out against the abortion restrictions as we believe that it is a personal decision.