EDITORIAL: An amendment that punishes women
Source: El DiarioAfter trading off the rights and health of women, some Democrats are aiming to make changes to an anti abortion amendment during negotiations with the Senate. We urge the House and Senate to act as if women matter more than the narrow, conservative agenda trying to control personal health decisions.
Over the weekend, the House voted through a bill to propel health care reform. While this represents a step forward in some respects, what it outrageous is how Republicans, along with conservative-leaning Democrats, are making health reform a hostage of the debate on abortion, as well as on immigration.
Illinois Democrat Jan Schakowsky, the co-chair of the Congressional Women's Caucus, warned that the amendment included in the bill goes beyond a current ban of the use of federal funding for abortions. “This amendment says that a woman cannot purchase coverage that includes abortion services using her own dollars… Her only option is to buy a separate insurance policy that covers only abortion – a ridiculous and unworkable approach since no woman anticipates needing an abortion.” Click here for full text |
