What the Abortion “Compromise” Means for Women
by Erica C. Barnett Democrats in the Senate, including our own Patty Murray (and presumably Maria Cantwell), have said they will support a “compromise” health care reform bill that, as usual, throws women’s health care under the bus. Here, via RH Reality Check, is what the Democrats “compromised” away to win a filibuster-proof majority (scare quotes because the bill sells out women’s rights as much as Democratic Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak’s amendment did): The new bill allows states to opt out of abortion coverage. Currently, 17 states already prohibit insurance companies from providing abortion coverage: AR, CO, ID, IL, KY, MA, MS, MO, NE, ND, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, VA, and WI. The new bill will require every single person enrolled in a health-care plan that provides abortion services to write two separate checks for insurance coverage—one to pay the bulk of their premium, the other to pay for the portion that would be allocated for abortion care, whether that portion is a dollar or a nickel. Essentially, the decision to purchase additional abortion coverage requires women to plan for their unplanned pregnancies (or planned pregnancies in which abortion is medically indicated)—a situation that defies logic.
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