Yet, 37 years later, almost to the day, we face the remarkable possibility that the United States Congress will enact health care reform legislation that singles out abortion from all other medical procedures, with unprecedented and unnecessary restrictions. Indeed, these restrictions threaten not only to prevent women who will gain access to health insurance from obtaining abortion coverage, but could also result in women losing abortion coverage they currently have.
Anti-choice organizations and lawmakers still aim to overturn Roe v. Wade, but in the absence of their ability to do that right now, they are working tirelessly to enact restrictive laws and regulations that result in additional barriers to women seeking health care. In that vein, anti-choice legislators have succeeded in the U.S. House of Representatives in passing the most dangerous obstacle to abortion care in decades — the Stupak abortion amendment.
In effect, the Stupak amendment, if enacted, would be a ban on private health insurance coverage for abortion for millions of women, many of whom pay for their insurance themselves with their own money. This marks an unprecedented departure from existing federal law affecting individuals who pay for their own health insurance.
Because the majority of private health insurance plans already offer abortion coverage, the House bill will actually cause women to lose insurance coverage that they currently have.
It is indeed disturbing, 37 years after the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the right to choose abortion, that Congress would enact health care reform legislation that isolates abortion from all other medical procedures, and severely hurts the ability of women to purchase health insurance that includes abortion coverage.
Planned Parenthood supports meaningful health care reform that expands women’s access to health care coverage, but it must not come at the expense of coverage women currently have.
It is incumbent upon Congress to remove these harmful restrictions on abortion from the final health care reform bill. Women will not stand for their benefits being taken away. Women will reject a health plan that puts a special interest agenda before the health care they need. There is no better time to remind our elected leaders of this than on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
Lori Lamerand is the CEO of Planned Parenthood Mid and South Michigan, which operates 15 health centers in 22 counties, providing medical services and sexuality education for nearly 62,000 women, men, and teenagers each year. PPMSM believes that everyone has the right to choose when or whether to have a child, and that every child should be wanted and loved.
