Abortion // Current

Advice to GOP: Quit repulsing women

On Friday night, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) responded to the question, "Why should a... more

fountaingoats
added this
1 hour ago
|
0 comments

Face it: The Democratic Party is not for women

Since the healthcare reform bill passed the House with the Stupak-Pitts amendment... more

fountaingoats
added this
1 hour ago
|
0 comments

Boxer: Senate has votes to block Stupak amendment

One of Congress's foremost champions of abortion rights said on Monday that the Senate... more

fountaingoats
added this
1 hour ago
|
0 comments

Reps. DeGette and Schakowsky won't support HCR that restricts reproductive rights

The health care bill passed in the House of Representatives on Saturday night makes... more

fountaingoats
added this
1 hour ago
|
0 comments

Abortion Restrictions In House Bill Show Power Of Organized Religion In Politics

http://airamerica.com/politics/11-09-2009/house-bill-shows-power-religion-politics/

The Catholic Church successfully helped deliver a crushing blow to the abortion rights movement on Saturday by insisting that abortion restrictions be inserted into the newly passed House health care bill. But this isn't the first time that a religious organization has used its power, money, and influence to merge dogma with public policy.

Last Saturday, Democrats in the House of Representatives celebrated the passage of a health care reform bill that sought to finally provide coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. But the victory was bittersweet for many on the left because of a last-minute amendment offered by Democratic Rep. Bart Stupack that blocks those who receive federal health care subsidies or sign up for the public option from receiving any coverage for elective abortions. Advocates on both sides are calling the amendment the biggest turning point in the abortion debate in decades.

However, a study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute found that in 2003 only 13 percent of abortions in the US were provided under health insurance and, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, only about half of those who have employer-based insurance have abortion coverage.

Five states, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, North Dakota, and Oklahoma, already bar private insurance from coving elective abortions; the federal employees’ health insurance program and most Medicaid programs do the same.

Therefore, the effect of the Stupack amendment on access to abortions would probably be minimal. However, the precedent that the amendment sets could prove disastrous for the pro-choice movement. If abortion rights are seen as a commodity to be traded away to secure the votes of conservative Democrats, abortion-rights activists could see their agenda eroded as a divided legislative body attempts to reach compromise.

Moreover, the success of the Stupack amendment underlines a disturbing trend—the influence powerful religious organizations exert over members of congress and even the President himself.

Advocates on both sides of the issue are largely crediting the Catholic Church with strong-arming the Stupack amendment into the House bill.

Starting in the summer, Catholic bishops began a letter writing campaign threatening to pull support for any health care bill that allowed federal dollars to directly or indirectly be spent on elective abortions.

On Oct. 8 three members of the bishops conference issued the following warning: “If the final legislation does not meet our principles, we will have no choice but to oppose the bill.”

And Cardinal Seán O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, reportedly delivered a warning directly to President Obama telling him that the Catholic Church would only support the health care bill if it contained restrictions on abortion.

For years the Catholic Church has advocated for universal health care and has been an ally of the Democratic Party on this issue; loss of their support would be a major blow for health care reform.http://airamerica.com/politics/11-09-2009/house-bill-shows-power-religion-politics/... more

hpseaton
added this
12 hours ago
|
38 comments

Politics of abortion threaten health care reform

The politics of abortion threaten health care reform. The Stupak-Pitts Amendment, a... more

locutus
added this
18 hours ago
|
0 comments

Christian terrorists release Defensive Action Statement, justify political assassination

Christian terrorists have released a Defensive Action Statement in an attempt to... more

locutus
added this
22 hours ago
|
0 comments

This is Bad in so Many Ways

WASHINGTON - Abortion opponents in the Senate are seeking tough restrictions in the... more

LadybugLady
added this
23 hours ago
|
38 comments

Christian terrorist Scott Roeder admits killing Dr. George Tiller

AP is reporting Christian terrorist Scott Roeder admits to the killing of Dr. George... more

locutus
added this
1 day ago
|
2 comments

Scott Roeder confesses to shooting Dr. George Tiller

Scott Roeder has confessed to the shooting of a Kansas abortion provider. The... more

Future_America
added this
1 day ago
|
0 comments

Abortion Issue May Kill Healthcare Bill

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091108/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_overhaul_abortion A... more

S3th
added this
1 day ago
|
2 comments

Watch It Shrink Think the House health care reform bill's too long? Not after the Senate deals w/ it

Think the House health care reform bill's too long? Not after the Senate whittles away... more

atomiclegion
added this
2 days ago
|
2 comments

Pro-Life Amendment Seen as Historic Victory Overshadowed by Dangers of Health Bill Passage

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/nov/09110801.html

jlaws
added this
2 days ago
|
0 comments

Get Gay Marriage Off the Ballot

The Maine gay-marriage initiative went down to defeat Tuesday. But the real tragedy is... more

atomiclegion
added this
6 days ago
|
2 comments

Every sperm is a living, breathing person!

Every sperm and every egg, fertilized or not, is a living, breathing person, endowed... more

angliss
added this
9 days ago
|
44 comments

10 Reasons Abortion Must Be Covered By Health Insurance

http://www.salon.com/news/abortion/index.html?story=/mwt/broadsheet/feature/2009/10/28/... more

Future_America
added this
13 days ago
|
1 comment

eBay refuses fundraising auction for Dr. Tiller's killer

An eBay auction planned by abortion opponents to raise money for the man accused of... more

Future_America
added this
13 days ago
|
25 comments

10 reasons abortion must be covered

1. Abortion is legal medical care. "Abortion is a legal right, and it takes medical care to exercise that right," says Judy Waxman, vice-president of health and reproductive rights at the National Women's Law Center. (For their healthcare reform campaign, click here.) The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also chimes in here (PDF).

2. Abortion is common, mainstream medical care. It is one of the most common surgical procedures in America.

3. Abortion is already broadly covered. Between 50 and 85 percent of women who have private insurance, including employer-sponsored plans, have coverage for abortion care.

4. Covering abortion does not raise the abortion rate. As Gloria Feldt points out, "Countries like France, Germany and the Netherlands routinely cover abortion in their national health plans, and have some of the lowest abortion rates in the world."

5. Covering abortion makes abortion safer. Out of pocket, abortion can be expensive, all the more so as the pregnancy progresses. Yet women who take time to "save up" only wind up paying more -- and taking more risk. Feldt: "When abortion is covered, women who choose abortion do so earlier in their pregnancy, and with less risk to their health." Seventy-five thousand women die each year worldwide -- and many times that suffer lifelong disability -- due to unsafe abortions, usually obtained where abortion is illegal or highly restricted. "These are public health issues that also have economic ramifications beyond the cost of abortion," says Jodi Jacobson, senior political editor of RH Reality Check.

6. Covering abortion is what the people want. According to a recent poll by the Mellman Group, voters oppose reform that would prohibit insurance companies from covering abortion. The only subgroup of voters in which a majority favors such a restriction are established antiabortion voters. But even among them, 39 percent oppose restrictions on abortion coverage.

7. Excluding abortion from coverage sends us down a slippery "moral" slope. "Government policies that are based on the theory that private policyholders should not be forced to see their premiums used to cover things they consider immoral would result in a return to the days when contraception was not covered in individual plans for unmarried women and pregnancy was excluded in individual insurance plans and only covered in 'family plans,'" Frances Kissling told Broadsheet, recalling that this was the case when she entered the insurance market. Should people who oppose sex outside of marriage determine who gets covered for childbirth? By the same argument, we could also -- for example -- exclude coverage for HIV and AIDS if contracted through homosexual conduct." To which Katha Pollitt adds: "That many people disapprove of abortion is irrelevant. In a democracy, every citizen sees their tax dollars go for things they thing are wrong."

8. And about that "elective" business. Kissling: "Let's have insurance companies hold an annual poll of subscribers and decide on a majority basis what gets covered. Let's especially ask if they want their premiums to pay for obesity-related diseases, smoking-related diseases, STDs, neonatal intensive care where the life expectancy is less than 5 percent and put a cap on care for people over 80."

9. Without coverage, there is no "choice." Sex -- a natural human drive for most -- entails risks. Even with the best prevention measures, there will be unintended pregnancies. Jacobson: "Women must be able to make the choice of whether or not to bear children because unintended pregnancy entails emotional, financial and psychic costs that will be borne only or largely by the woman."

more at link...1. Abortion is legal medical care. "Abortion is a legal right, and it takes medical... more