|
House Leadership Gives Priority to Assault on Women's Reproductive Rights and Health
|
 |
 |
 |
|
February, 2011 The opening salvos in GOP efforts to further limit women's reproductive options are HR 3 The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) H.R. 358 the "Protect Life Act," introduced by Joe Pitts (R-PA) and HR 217 "Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, introduced by Mike Pence (R-IN), Thanks to public outcry, the rape exception in HR3 that narrowly defined rape as having to involve force or violence was removed, only to be supplanted by a provision in HR 358 that would allow hospitals that receive federal funds to turn away women in need of emergency pregnancy termination to save their lives. HR 217 is distinguished by its prohibition on insurance coverage of abortion even if paid for with private funds. All three measures deny all women their right to a full range of reproductive health services and additionally penalize low-income women. Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said he will make good on his continued commitment to anti-abortion legislation, pledging that he"won't compromise" on this key issue. The current rule preventing most federal funding of abortions, the Hyde Amendment, has to be reauthorized every year, which it has been every year since 1976. The annual reauthorization fight often forces opponents of abortion rights, who generally have a majority in the House, to negotiate with abortion rights supporters who often hold a majority in the Senate. While most people think of the Hyde Amendment as one bill, in practice it is a series of negotiated provisions in a series of different spending bills. It works a little bit differently in each of them. But if the House leadership gets what it wants, its anti-choice contingent won't have to worry about reauthorization compromises any more. The new bill will make policies that ban abortion funding permanent federal law instead of annual battles that anti-choice advocates sometimes lose depending on who controls Congress and the White House. The other big goal of conservative anti-abortion opponents is defunding Planned Parenthood and groups like it. ON Feb 15th, the House began consideration of a Continuing Resolution that would keep the federal government in operation, but also would gut funding entirely for all Title X family planning services and the clinics that provide them. (The Title X Family Planning program ["Population Research and Voluntary Family Planning Programs" (Public Law 91-572)], was enacted in 1970 with broad bipartisan support as Title X of the Public Health Service Act. Title X is the only federal grant program dedicated solely to providing individuals with comprehensive family planning and related preventive health services. The Title X program is designed to provide access to contraceptive services, supplies and information to all who want and need them. By law, priority is given to persons from low-income families. A third big goal, banning federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, will probably be a lower priority until a court battle over the subject is resolved. |
