NARAL Pro-Choice New York Condemns Stupak-Pitts Amendment
For Immediate Release Contact: Samantha Levine November 16, 2009 917-488-0075 NARAL Pro-Choice New York Condemns Stupak-Pitts Amendment Statement from Kelli Conlin, President Just over a week ago 240 members of Congress held health care reform hostage, seizing the opportunity to pass the Stupak–Pitts amendment and dial back women’s access to abortion care far beyond the limitations that already exist under federal law. This is not the health care reform we were promised. We were promised time and again that nobody would lose their existing coverage under health care reform. But the Stupak amendment turns that promis into a lie - because a woman who currently has abortion coverage and joins the exchange will simply not have access to that same plan. Anyway you try to sugarcoat it, that is a loss - and it is not acceptable. And let's be clear: it is our most vulnerable, underserved populations who will be profoundly impacted by this amendment - the low and middle-income women and their families who are already struggling to afford insurance. Which means that the woman who can least afford to pay out of pocket for abortion care is the one who will be told she cannot choose a plan with abortion coverage. Some people say that allowing women to purchase an abortion rider is a "fix" to this issue. But in reality, the abortion rider is not only impractical - no woman plans for an unintended pregnancy and an abortion - it is also extremely misogynistic and degrading. Can you imagine a 20 year old woman - your sister or daughter, perhaps - beginning her first job and walking into her employer's office to ask for the abortion rider? People have enough trouble inquiring about dental coverage, let alone reproductive health care. One on three women will have an abortion in her lifetime. For women, this is a health issue, not a political issue. There was a t-shirt that said "abortion is healthcare, healthcare is a right." For American women, both statements are absolutely true.This unconscionable amendment has served as a powerful wake-up call to women who will not watch their rights be diminished. In fact, NARAL's anti-Stupak petition has already reached 97,000 signatures! This outcry, which began at the grassroots level, has made its way to the halls of the Senate: we will not stand for this assault on the health care options of millions of American women.
|