Are you angry about the Stupak Amendment? Co-sign the letter from 40 Democratic congresswomen demanding that Stupak is "stripped" from the final health care bill.
When the House of Representatives passed health care reform late Saturday night, there was a new, last-minute addition. Rep. Bart Stupak's (D-MI) amendment would severely limit a woman's right to choose. In fact, his restrictions are far more severe than Republicans were ever able to pass during the Bush presidency.
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) wrote an open letter demanding that the amendment be stripped from the final health care bill, signed by 40 other Democratic congresswomen. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee is now asking members to "co-sign" the letter.
The letter reads:
We believe that women should have access to a full range of reproductive health care. Health care reform must not be misused as an opportunity to restrict women’s access to reproductive health services.
The Stupak-Pitts amendment to H.R. 3962, The Affordable Healthcare for America Act, represents an unprecedented and unacceptable restriction on women’s ability to access the full range of reproductive health services to which they are lawfully entitled. We will not vote for a conference report that contains language that restricts women’s right to choose any further than current law.
Co-sign the letter here.
What does the Stupak-Pitts Amendment do?
Prohibits any plan on the exchange from covering abortion services. The health care bill opens up a new marketplace for health care coverage, which is great, but then the Stupak Amendment imposes this restrictive new rule on all vendors in that market.
Prohibits anyone receiving a federal subsidy from purchasing a health insurance plan that includes abortion coverage. This disproportionately impacts low- and middle-income women.
Says that women can purchase a separate, single-service "abortion rider"--but abortion riders don’t actually exist. In the five states that only allow abortion coverage through a separate rider, there is no evidence that they are available.
And honestly, chances are slim that a woman is going to buy separate "abortion coverage," anyway. No one ever plans for a tragic miscarriage and a D&C procedure. These are unexpected and terrible medical emergencies.
The bottom line: President Obama said that a basic principle of health care reform is that "no one will lose the benefits they currently have." But under the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, millions of women will lose private insurance coverage for abortion services, and millions more will be prohibited from buying it, even with their own money.
Want to speak out? Co-sign the letter from 40 Democratic congresswomen, and join the fight to strip Stupak.