2010 News Releases
New York advocates to meet with D.C. lawmakers today on abortion coverage in health care reform
7.16.2010
T. Brooks: "Women are not second-class citizens, and they should not be treated with second-class health care."
Advocates from nine Planned Parenthoods from around the state and representatives of Family Planning Advocates of New York State (FPA) are in Washington, D. C. today meeting with members of Congress to oppose the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' intention to restrict coverage for abortion in new insurance pools. Health care reform established states' high-risk insurance pools where individuals who are unable to secure commercial insurance because of preexisting conditions will be able to buy coverage until 2014 when the state-based health insurance exchanges are established.
Women who would be eligible for coverage in these pools because of their preexisting conditions are the very women who would be more likely to have medically complicated pregnancies. "For pregnant women with such serious medical conditions as cancer, kidney disease and diabetes, health care providers may offer abortion as an option to preserve their health," said FPA president and CEO M. Tracey Brooks. "Women should have coverage for the full range of medical options to protect their health and fertility," she stressed.
"Women are not second-class citizens and should not be treated with second-class health care, which will be the case if the Obama administration restricts abortion coverage in these insurance pools to cases of incest, rape and to preserve the life of the woman," she asserted.
Funding appropriated to the states' insurance pools for individuals with preexisting conditions was intended to broaden coverage options for this group of people -individuals who are the most vulnerable in our society because of their poor health and lack of health care and insurance coverage.
"The Executive Order issued by the President on abortion in health care reform only addressed rules for segregating funds for abortion coverage in the health care exchanges. If carried out as proposed, the HHS restrictions on abortion coverage would go far beyond the negotiated Nelson Amendment and the Executive Order. This outcome closely resembles the Stupak Amendment that Congress voted down because of the severe restriction it would place on the availability of abortion coverage and even prevent women from using private funds to buy health insurance that includes such coverage," Brooks exclaimed.
Rabbi Dennis Ross, director of FPA's Concerned Clergy for Choice, said, "Our clergy members are committed to safeguarding the sanctity of a pregnant woman's life by supporting every woman and her health care provider in doing what they decide is best for her. That is the moral high ground that we honor in our work."
Ross joined advocates in meeting with lawmakers and urging their support for a reversal of this decision that will harm women and families.
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