As the son of a nurse who worked in primary care for many years, I've long held the belief that decisions about childbearing should be made by a woman in consultation with her family and doctor. The government doesn't belong in the room when these very personal, private decisions are being made.
Unfortunately, the debate over abortion - a legal, constitutionally-protected medical procedure - has become a wedge issue in the larger effort to reform our nation's broken health care system.
Since current federal law already bans the use of federal funds to pay for abortions, and nothing in the Affordable Health Care for America Act changes the Hyde Amendment, I didn't hesitate to vote against the amendment introduced by my colleague Bart Stupak.
This measure represents a dangerous step towards making abortion a class-based procedure that only wealthy women could afford.
Under Mr. Stupak's amendment, women who don't get their health insurance through their employer and purchase affordable coverage through the new Health Insurance Exchange, would be denied the ability to buy a health insurance policy that covers abortion services - even when using their own money. That's right: none of the private plans or public insurance options found in the Exchange would be allowed to cover abortion.
Essentially, low-income, working and middle-class women whose only means of obtaining health insurance is through the Exchange would need to pay extra out-of-pocket to add a separate rider to their policy that covers this legal procedure. Ironically, 87% of employer-based plans currently cover abortion services. Even the Republican National Committee's health insurance plan for its employees covered abortion services - that is until, to score political points, its chairman changed their coverage.
Under our current broken health care system, women pay 48% more for the same health coverage as their male counterparts and under current law the health insurance industry considers domestic violence as a "pre-existing condition." These failures are among the reasons we need health care reform in the first place. So instead of making health insurance more affordable for women, they would still end up paying more for the same coverage under the Stupak amendment.
In January 1973, our nation decided that a woman could choose abortion in the earlier months of pregnancy without restriction. Not only does the Stupak amendment add unnecessary restrictions to a woman's right to choose, but it will end up costing women more and turning abortion into a class-based procedure.
This is wrong - and it's why I'm committed to stripping this burdensome measure from the final health care reform bill before it hits the President's desk.
As the son of a nurse who worked in primary care for many years, I've long held the belief that decisions about childbearing should be made by a woman in consultation with her family and doctor. The government doesn't belong in the room when these very personal, private decisions are being made.
