The Senate Finance Committee this morning rejected, by a 13 to 10 margin, a proposal by Senator Orrin Hatch, a Republican from Utah, that would have turned abortion coverage into an optional “rider†that women would have to buy separately when purchasing health insurance through the proposed insurance “exchange†that would be created under health reform. Hatch and his anti-choice colleagues said the purpose of the amendment was to make absolutely sure no public dollars would be used for abortion coverage, even though the Baucus health reform bill already does that in a different way by requiring that public funds be kept separate from private funds when abortion coverage is provided.
“As a woman, I find this offensive,†said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat who was one of several Senators arguing vigorously against Stabenow called “an extreme amendment†in committee debate. “This is not about tax dollars,†she said, but rather “this is an unprecedented intrusion into what people can buy in the private marketplace.†She and a committee staffer said that the Hatch proposal would ban abortion entirely from all insurance plans offered in the insurance exchange, and thus remove that coverage from private insurance policies women now have and are paying for with their own money.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Washington Democrat, said the Hatch proposal would move the health reform bill from one that maintains the status quo on abortion – by maintaining the current prohibition on use of federal funds for abortion – to one “that would change the status quo. â€Also arguing against the Hatch amendment was Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, who elicited testimony from committee staff that states which now use their own dollars to fund abortions in the Medicaid program are able to successfully segregate those funds from federal Medicaid funding that cannot be used for abortions.
Please thank the Senators who voted against the outrageous Hatch abortion ban! They include Baucus, Bingaman, Menendez, Cantwell, Snowe, Stabenow, Nelson, Schumer, Rockefeller.
A few minutes later, another proposal by Senator Hatch to insert a new “conscience†or refusal clause was also defeated by 13 to 10!
Please view and share these videos. And let your senators know that Baucus’s unfunded mandate is unacceptable. The Baucus bill is bad for just about everyone, and great for health insurance companies.
Unfortunately, in an otherwise well-intended effort to get a public plan option back in health reform, West Virginia Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller filed an amendment (#C6) that includes a ban on coverage of abortions (except in cases of rape, incest or threat to the life of the woman) in the public plan.
This provision would go well beyond the current federal bans on use of federal funding for abortions, because it would mean that even women trying to purchase public- sponsored health insurance with their own money would be barred from having abortion coverage!
Remember, the public plan is simply a government-sponsored insurance option, which people could choose to select as their health insurance and pay for with their own premium dollars. Because it is likely to be cheaper than private insurance being offered through the proposed health insurance exchange, women may want to buy this public insurance. Any public subsidies women might use to supplement their private premium dollars in purchasing public or private health insurance through the exchange already would have a “no-abortion” condition attached to it, under the Baucus plan. Like the Capps amendment (attached to health reform in the House Energy and Commerce Committee reform bill), the Baucus plan would segregate public subsidy funds from private premium dollars to avoid having public money pay for abortions.
We Need Your Help!
Tell Senator Rockefeller and other members of the Senate Finance Committee to take the abortion ban out of any public plan option! Other anti-choice amendments that should be opposed include ones filed by Senator Orin Hatch (C10, C13 and C14) and Senator Michael Enzi (C13, C14, C15 and C21).
If your Senator is not a member of the Senate Finance Committee, ask him or her to contact Senator Rockefeller and the other senators on the Finance Committee to oppose the abortion ban and anti-choice amendments.
Advocates for women’s health care have been meeting with congressional representatives around the country to advocate for affordable comprehensive health care reform. We here at Choice Matters have arranged many of these meetings in New York.
Despite our hard work, and the support of many in the New York delegation, a terrible bill has emerged from the Senate Finance Committee–aptly named the Baucus Bill after the chairman who is pushing it through.
Below is a summary* of things fundamentally wrong with the Baucus Bill.
NOW WE NEED YOU! CONTACT YOUR SENATORS, especially if they are members of the Senate Finance Committee, and demand that the Baucus Bill be amended in the Senate Finance Committee mark-up meetings next week. (Scroll down for a list of members of the Finance Committee.)
If your Senator is not a member of the Senate Finance Committee, ask him or her to contact Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus to oppose this bill in its current form.
The deadline for submitting amendments is tomorrow, Friday September 18, at 5 p.m. Eastern time, so we must act quickly!
(*Thank you to Raising Women’s Voices for providing this summary.)
“The people of New York will especially be shortchanged by the Finance Committee’s legislation, as would other regions with a high cost of living. By cutting the cost of the bill, this version reduces subsidies for working families to buy insurance, something which may still work in Montana, but it certainly will not help people living in New York.”
–Rep. Eliot Engel, 9/16/09
The Summary
The long-awaited Senate Finance Committee health reform bill has finally emerged from the anti-democratic and painfully extended negotiation process created by Committee Chair Max Baucus of Montana. The Baucus bill is bad for women and bad for our families in many ways.
What’s wrong with the bill? Compared to the bills produced earlier in the summer by four other Congressional committees (three in the House and one in the Senate), the Baucus bill fails to make health insurance affordable for women and our families. It sacrifices important features of the other proposals, such as the public plan option, in what appears to have been an unsuccessful attempt to woo Republicans. Not a single Republican came forward to support the Baucus plan, and several prominent Democrats (including Senators Rockefeller and Wyden, both of whom are on the Finance Committee) have already criticized the proposal.
We strongly oppose the bill as it stands today and are calling on Senators to amend and improve it in the Finance Committee mark up next week and on the floor of the Senate. Key problems to be addressed include:
The bill imposes politics and ideology on what should be a purely medical decision – the question about what services an insurance plan will cover. It singles out abortion for special exclusions, rather than treating it like other medical care. The Baucus bill adopts language that was developed as a compromise by the House Energy and Commerce Committee (the so-called Capps amendment) to stave off worse anti-choice amendments. Reproductive health services are basic health care for women, and we urge the Finance Committee members to follow the lead of their colleagues on the Senate HELP Committee by passing legislation that puts the decisions about which services will be covered by insurance in the hands of medical experts and consumers who will make their decisions based on medical standards of care and scientific/medical evidence, not politics or ideology.
The bill fails to make health insurance affordable for low- and moderate-income people. It would mandate that everybody buy health insurance, and impose sizeable penalties on those who don’t, but it doesn’t make it possible for people to actually afford the insurance. According to The Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a family of three earning about $55,000 – three times the federal poverty level – would be expected to pay as much as 13 percent of its income for health insurance premiums. That’s roughly $7,100 a year. It compares with costs of about $5,500 under the House bill, and $4,300 in the Senate health committee bill. A three-person family earning about $27,500 would have to pay 5.5 percent of its income, a premium of about $1,570. That compares with $824 a year in the House legislation, and $275 under the Senate health committee proposal. In addition, the bill does not set a reasonable limit on the amount of out-of-pocket costs that an insurance company can charge, over and above the price of the premium.
The bill allows and even encourages insurance companies and employers to continue practices that are particularly damaging to women. It allows insurance companies to charge older people up to five times as much as younger people. The House bill allowed only a 2 to 1 ratio. Women, who live longer on average than men, are more likely to bear the costs of this age rating. Moreover, the bill creates a disincentive for employers to hire low-income workers and especially low-income, single parents – the vast majority of whom are women.
The bill fails to ensure that all residents receive equal access to health coverage. We believe that health reform should give legal immigrants access to affordable coverage in the same way that it does for as American citizens. Legal immigrants should have access to tax credits through the exchange, should be eligible for Medicaid without a waiting period and should not be subject to excessive verification requirements. In addition, we oppose efforts to bar people, regardless of immigration status, from using their own funds to buy health insurance through the exchange.
The bill does not establish a health insurance system that will provide a full range of choices to consumers, lower costs and make insurance companies accountable. The Baucus bill does not include a public insurance option, but instead provides a government-subsidized monopoly for private insurers. A robust public health insurance option would effectively compete with private insurers, giving people meaningful choice in their insurance purchasing decisions, helping to control costs and bringing greater accountability to the insurance industry. The co-op proposal included in the Baucus bill will not meet these objectives.
Senate Finance Committee members
Democrats
1. MAX BAUCUS, MT
2. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, WV
3.KENT CONRAD, ND
4. JEFF BINGAMAN, NM
5. JOHN F. KERRY, MA
6. BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, AR
7. RON WYDEN, OR
8. CHARLES E. SCHUMER, NY
9. DEBBIE STABENOW, MI
10. MARIA CANTWELL, WA
11. BILL NELSON, FL
12. ROBERT MENENDEZ, NJ
13. THOMAS CARPER, DE
Republicans
1. CHUCK GRASSLEY, IA
2. ORRIN G. HATCH, UT
3. OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, ME
4. JON KYL, AZ
5.JIM BUNNING, KY
6. MIKE CRAPO, ID
7. PAT ROBERTS, KS 8. JOHN ENSIGN, NV
9. MIKE ENZI, WY
10. JOHN CORNYN, TX
There are two Democratic candidates running in the September 15th Primary for the open District 8 seat on the Westchester County Board of Legislators, but only one of them is pro-choice.
WCLA-Choice Matters interviewed both Alfreda Williams and Karen Wompa prior to making endorsements. Both candidates described themselves as pro-choice, but only Williams truly is. The Board of Directors unanimously agreed to endorse Alfreda Williams because she unequivocally supports choice and reproductive health care. Karen Wompa was determined to be anti-choice due to her responses during her interview.
How We Endorse
WCLA – Choice Matters’ endorsements are made by its Board of Directors. Endorsements are determined case by case. To be considered for endorsement, candidates must complete and return WCLA – Choice Matters’ questionnaire and participate in an interview if requested.
Endorsement is considered only for those who unequivocally support:
access to abortion and contraception for all women, unimpeded by laws, restrictions, or regulation;
strict confidentiality for all reproductive health care;
coverage by public and private insurance of abortion and contraception.
Just simply calling yourself pro-choice is not enough for us. In the past, so-called pro-choice elected officials have gone on to support legislation that would weaken Roe v Wade or make it more difficult for Westchester women to have access to the reproductive rights that they deserve.
We stand by our endorsement of Alfreda Williams in the September 15th Democratic Primary and in the General Election.
Together We Walk – United We Stand – For Health Care Reform
As we in the pro-choice community know all too well, access to safe, legal reproductive health care is essential to the health and well-being of all women.
On Saturday, August 29th, join with others from across Westchester and New York City who are dedicated to improving access to women’s health services across the lifespan, including to comprehensive reproductive health care.
Saturday, August 29th at Noon!
Women’s Walk
12 pm – Kick off Roosevelt Hospital
(10th Ave at 59th St) 2 pm – Converge with other activists from all over NYC for our Times Square Rally Speakers include: House Ways and Means Chair Charles Rangel of Harlem and
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan
Walk for the health care women need. See you there!
To Join or co-sponsor The Women’s Walk, contact: INFO@RAISINGWOMENSVOICES.NET
Or for more information email Choice Matters at ChoiceMatters@ChoiceMatters.org
Participating Women’s Health Organizations
Choices in Childbirth*Community Healthcare Network*Crime Victims Treatment Center/Roosevelt Hospital*Gynuity Health Projects*NARAL Pro-Choice NY*National Institute for Reproductive Health*National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health*New Space for Women’s Health*New York Civil Liberties Union*NOW – NYC*NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault*Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health*Planned Parenthood of New York City Action Fund*Pro-Choice Public Education Project*Public Health Association of NYC*Raising Women’s Voices for the Health Care We Need*Reproductive Health Access Project*The Women’s City Club of New York*WCLA-Choice Matters
Tell the New York Senate to Stop Playing Politics with Women’s Health-
Tell Her/Him to Support the Reproductive Health Act, Senate Bill # S5808
Call Your Senator Today!!!
To find your senator and her/his contact information CLICK HERE And Sign The Petition CLICK HERE
What is the Reproductive Health Act?
The Reproductive Health Act guarantees a woman’s right to control her reproductive health; ensures that a woman will be able to have an abortion if her health is endangered; treats the regulation of abortion as an issue of public health and medical practice, rather than as a potential crime; and guarantees everyone the right to use or refuse contraception.
The Reproductive Health Act takes abortion out of the penal code, and regulates it as a matter of public health and medical practice.
The Reproductive Health Act protects the fundamental right of a woman and her doctor – not politicians – to make private medical decisions.
The Reproductive Health Act is sponsored by Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assemblywoman Deborah Glick.
Why Does the Current Law Need to be Changed?In 1970, New York decriminalized abortion, three years before Roe v. Wade. It was one of the first states to do so. The law was visionary then, but today it is outdated and confusing. Current law does not contain the foundations upon which Roe was decided, including the fundamental right of women to make private medical decisions, nor does it take into account how abortion care is now provided.
The current law must be changed because under New York State’s present law, family planning and abortion are still treated as crimes in our statute books. Doctors should not have to fear prosecution because of the type of medicine they practice.
It also lacks protections if a woman’s health is endangered.
Furthermore, the current law is like icing on a cake; it has never been incorporated into NYS law, i.e. the batter. With one swift motion, it could be wiped away, and New York will be left with abortion being a crime as described in the penal code.
Dr. George Tiller-a husband, father to 4, grandfather to 10-was murdered Sunday while ushering at his Wichita, Kansas church.
Why Tiller?
Dr. Tiller was an abortionist. He was one of the few people courageous enough to perform third trimester abortions. Dr. Tiller’s patients were generally women who had desperately wanted their pregnancies but, either because the fetuses they were carrying were not viable or because their own health had been placed in serious jeopardy by their pregnancies, sought these terminations.
A soft-spoken man, Dr. Tiller risked his life daily to provide high-quality health care to women. He cared deeply about his patients, their rights, and their lives. He considered his work to be his calling, caring for women in their time of need.
Dr. Tiller was a hero-a true good guy. In 1998, Dr. Tiller made headlines by helping a 12-year-old Michigan girl who had been raped by her brother, taken into custody by the prosecutor thereby effectively delaying a termination beyond the legal limit in Michigan, and then was temporarily blocked from leaving the state by the judge. Her parents were finally able to get her to Dr. Tiller in her 27th week.
Dr. Tiller refused to be intimidated by the anti-abortion rights extremists who bombed his clinic in 1986, shot him in both arms in 1993, harassed him with frivolous investigations and prosecutions (cases in which he was acquitted), and targeted him daily.
We are saddened by the loss of a man who cared for so many women and who did not quit even when his life was endangered. Thank you, Dr. Tiller, for all you have done for us.
The Anti-Abortion Rights Strategy
The goal of violence against abortion providers is intimidation. Knock out other existing as well as potential abortionists by scaring the daylights out of them. This technique is not new. They used it aggressively in the 1990’s, when President Bill Clinton, our last pro-choice president, was in office. There was a five-fold increase in violence against abortion providers and clinics during those years. Despite public displays decrying this brutality, violent terrorist cells like Operation Rescue have been inciting horrific acts of violence. Now they are aided by the Bill O’Reily’s and the Rush Limbaugh’s of TV and web fame.
Anti-choice fanatics recognize that they are not able to stop women from getting abortions-legal or otherwise. So the next best thing is to get rid of providers, either by murder or intimidation, thus rendering the phrase, “safe, legal and rare” meaningless. Killing abortion providers, bombing clinics, and photographing patients as they enter or exit clinics and then placing their faces on the web have all been strategies employed by these extremists.
Don’t Get Mad, Get Even
This is a time of choice:
We can either sit around and feel deeply saddened over the loss of Dr. Tiller,
OR
We can get up and say, “We won’t take it anymore.”
Step One
Let’s organize and support the candidates who support us. That’s what we do here at WCLA – Choice Matters, and have been doing since 1972.
We get pro-choice candidates elected, and keep them elected-candidates who will protect our rights; who are not scared to speak out; who don’t hide behind the present-day catch-phrase, decreasing the number of unintended pregnancies to decrease the number of abortions, rather than speaking directly about abortion.
It is the job of the people we vote for to do our bidding or to get out of office. There is no middle ground.
The anti-abortion rights zealots terrorize with violence. We must use the voting booth as our weapon of choice. (You’ll be happily surprised to see what an effective weapon the vote can be.)
Laws, when passed and enforced by pro-choice individuals, can and do make abortion providers safer.
Step Two Pass the Women’s Reproductive Health Act.
Right now, before the end of June, here in New York State, we must pass the Women’s Reproductive Health Act. It was sponsored by Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins during the last state Senate session.
Call your state senators and demand that they support this bill. Find your elected officials
To learn more about the Women’s Reproductive Health Act, watch this video
Step Three
Judge Sotomayor is President Obama’s US Supreme Court nominee. Problem: we do not know her position on abortion, and Judge Sotomayor has made three judicial decisions that favored anti-choice groups.
Roe v. Wade and abortion rights are far too important to leave to chance! Too much is at risk. Sotomayor could throw the entire court into the anti-choice column.
As the blog A Candid World, A Short Series about Sotomayor wrote, “In today’s judicial confirmation battles, there’s really only one subject that matters: abortion. Justice Souter’s confirmation taught the right not to simply trust a nominee to vote the preferred way on the issue, and Democrats ought to have learned the same lesson.”
Tell your US senators that we must know where US Supreme Court nominee Judge Sotomayor stands on abortion rights. Find your elected officials
Dr. George Tiller, husband, father to 4, gradfather to 10, was shot and killed yesterday while ushering at his Wichita, Kansas church.
Dr. Tiller has been a target of the extreme anti-abortionists for decades. He survived an attempt on his life in 1993. Pulic figures such as Bill O’Reilly have been all but calling for his murder as Dr. Tiller was one of the remaining physicians in the USA to perform late-term abortions for women carrying fetuses with severe birth defects or for health reasons of the mother.
We are saddened by the loss of a man who cared for so many women who did not quit even when his life was endangered. Thank you Dr. Tiller for all you have done for us.
