The 'Stupak on Steroids' redefining of rape and incest to forcible rape ONLY for abortion by the political Right, aka the Political Wrong, has been defeated. The 'forcible rape' language has been replaced with the wording of the Hyde Amendment which recognizes rape, incest, and the life of the mother for abortions. Why another redundant reiteration of the Hyde Amendment? Just let it go, give up your culture war attack on women, Rightwingers.
Instead, the Republicans and Tea Partiers are declaring another culture war on women in a different way, this time on another of the Hyde Amendment provisions, one on which if there is any compromise, any position whatsoever where we have agreement on the appropriate use for abortion, it is this. They want to make it an acceptable option to REFUSE to perform an abortion to save a woman's life.
They want to make it acceptable to let women die who could have their life be saved. You know - the RELIGIOUS Right who claim to care about life, but don't, when it comes to women.
The effectivenss of the protest against the Stupak on Steroids legislation was tremendously effective. We need to let the Wrong-on-the-Right know this is every bit as unacceptable to America. Sign the linked petition. Please contact your members of Congress. I'll update here if there is a similar twitter campaign to the one against the forcible abortion legislation. THIS is not what Congress should be doing; not now, not later, not ever.
Please stand up for women's rights to live. Please explain to the Wrong on the Political Right that women's lives are not subordinate to a fetus or embryo, that at some point it may be equal, but never less. Please tell the Wrong-on-the-Right Republicans and Tea Partiers that they were not elected to try to do things like this, that they are angering all of us, that this is not ok.
This is not terribly different from the efforts both state and federal levels to make it acceptable for pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions - prescriptions for contraception, prescription for anything they don't approve. This is just like the Political-Wrong-on-the-Right trying to allow their so-called conscience by pharmacists to supersede doctors and patients decisions. This is another intrusion into people's private lives by an extremist right-wing view. This is trying to allow medical schools, hospitals and clinics, and individual doctors to cash in on federal funding while letting women die, letting them impose their religious beliefs on women's bodies.
Here is the PSA courtesy of moveon.org, similar to their petition which was part of the pushback against the Stupak on Steroids / forcible rape legislation:
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Big news: Thanks in part to you and the 581,053 others who signed the "Redefining Rape?" petition, the Republicans are back-pedaling from their attempt to redefine rape.1 Your support made a real difference.
But this legislation is still terrible for women. Rep. Carolyn Maloney called it "the deepest attack on a woman's right to choose in my lifetime."2 Expert Jessica Arons said it would "accomplish the unstated end of making abortion as difficult to obtain as possible without actually criminalizing it."3
Among other things, the bill would effectively prevent women from using their own money to purchase insurance that includes abortion coverage in the new insurance exchanges. Experts warn this could lead to insurance companies dropping abortion coverage entirely.4
And it's only one part of the Republicans' attack on women's health. A second bill would allow hospitals to let a pregnant woman die rather than perform the abortion that would save her life.5
It's reprehensible. We can't let the GOP force women back into the back alley. You stood up against the disgusting "forcible rape" provision—now can you stand together to tell Congress to oppose these attacks on women's right to choose by signing the petition below?
http://pol.moveon.org/wontgoback/?id=26019-5833117-sZGr18x&t=3
The petition says: "Stop the GOP war on women's health. Please oppose the bills that would restrict abortion coverage and erode a woman's right to choose."
On Tuesday, local MoveOn members in "We Won't Go Back to the Back Alley" T-shirts will deliver your petitions during a hearing on Capitol Hill. Anti-choice activists are sure to be out in full force at the hearing, so we need a huge stack of names to show Congress and the news media that voters won't stand for this attack.
These GOP bills are a full-throated attack on women's reproductive freedoms. Their legislation would:6
Effectively ban abortion coverage in the new health insurance exchanges even if people pay for coverage with their own money.
Impose tax penalties on small businesses that pay for health plans that cover abortion and people who pay for abortion care.
Force the District of Columbia to impose all of the above laws, instead of letting the city decide its own laws.
Permanently ban abortion care for women insured by the government.
And a recently added provision is perhaps the most disgusting: allowing hospitals to deny a woman a life-saving abortion. If this bill passes, hospitals will be allowed to turn away a woman seeking an abortion, even if she'll die without it—a major change from current law.7
Will you sign the petition today and stand up for a woman's right to choose?
Don't let the GOP send us back to the back alley. Sign the petition and share with your friends today:
http://pol.moveon.org/wontgoback/?id=26019-5833117-sZGr18x&t=4
Thanks for all you do.
Sources:
1. "House Republicans drop controversial 'forcible rape' language," CNN, February 3, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=205960&id=26019-5833117-sZGr18x&t=5
2. "Democratic Reps. Unimpressed With New House Abortion Bill," Talking Points Memo, February 3, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=205966&id=26019-5833117-sZGr18x&t=6
3. "Extreme Abortion Coverage Ban Introduced," Center for American Progress, January 20, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=205961&id=26019-5833117-sZGr18x&t=7
4. "An Analysis of the Implications of the Stupak/Pitts Amendment for Coverage of Medically Indicated Abortions," The George Washington University Medical Center, School of Public Health & Health Services, November 16, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=205972&id=26019-5833117-sZGr18x&t=8 (PDF)
"Study: Stupak Amendment Will Eliminate Abortion Coverage 'Over Time For All Women,'" Talking Points Memo, November 18, 2009
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=205973&id=26019-5833117-sZGr18x&t=9
"A Quick Note on the 'No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,'" Mother Jones, January 20, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=205975&id=26019-5833117-sZGr18x&t=10
"Extreme Abortion Coverage Ban Introduced," Center for American Progress, January 20, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=205961&id=26019-5833117-sZGr18x&t=11
5. "New GOP Bill Would Allow Hospitals To Let Women Die Instead Of Having An Abortion," Talking Points Memo, February 4, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=205974&id=26019-5833117-sZGr18x&t=12
6. "Extreme Abortion Coverage Ban Introduced," Center for American Progress, January 20, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=205961&id=26019-5833117-sZGr18x&t=13
7. "New GOP Bill Would Allow Hospitals To Let Women Die Instead Of Having An Abortion," Talking Points Memo, February 4, 2011
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/new-gop-law-would-allow-hospitals-to-let-women-die-instead-of-having-an-abortion.php.
DG,
ReplyDeleteWhile this seems like a "spam" insert from MoveOn, I'll sign the petition regardless. The decision to use medically appropriate and legal care shouldn't be subject to the religious/theocracy based application of "big governement" usurping the individual freedoms of Americans on religious grounds.
Thank you Pen.
ReplyDeleteOn the basis of the mention in the news media of a few specifically organized protests, from Twitter, from Move On.org, most prominently among others, I think it is fair to consider this something other than spam.
Before the 2010 election, it was reported that conservatives were interested in fiscal issues, not in renewing the pointless culture wars. Many of us were skeptical.
Appropriately so; this appears to be a very similar culture war to the one which occurred in the mid 90's under the Clinton administration, where the right over estimated the support they had, and pissed off the country by arrrogantly over reaching in the deluded notion they had a mandate they didn't have. Well, seems like right out of the starting box, they're doing the same thing all over again, this time possibly even more so.
If they continue this, just like the 90's with Clinton, they will assure Obama a second term, and find themselves kicked to the curb, out on their behinds. Again. For not having learned the lessons of history - and politics - but most specifically, the lessons of their lost culture wars.
If anything this time around with a younger constituency coming up, they will find even less welcome for their anti-women, anti-gay, theocracy positions.