Choice Matters

Only Bad News for Proponents of Choice

Yesterday, secure in the knowledge that he would have the necessary 60 votes to avoid a filibuster, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced his “manager’s amendment” to the Senate Health Reform bill, which included a huge betrayal of women.

That provision would likely mean that in many conservative states, there would be no abortion coverage in the commercial insurance plans that would be sold to consumers through these state exchanges. (Please see below for more details on this amendment.)

We, the pro-choice community, stand together in the belief that women should not lose ground in the new health-care system. That is not health care reform.

As NOW president Terry O’Neil said, “Right-wing ideologues like Nelson and the Catholic Bishops may not understand this, but abortion is health care, and health care reform is not true reform if it denies women coverage for the full range of reproductive health services.”

Although the Senate bill includes other provisions that stand to improve women’s access to reproductive-health services, the language of the Nelson amendment regarding abortion coverage comes at too great a price for reproductive health.

What Next
Remember this is not the end. The Senate will reconvene at 1 a.m. Monday for a procedural vote, with the final vote scheduled for Christmas Eve.

Then the Senate bill must be reconciled with the House bill.

What We Can Do
First, keep up the pressure on the Senate!
Get on the phone and call your Senators TODAY at 1-877-264-4226 OR 1-202-224-3121.

For Senator Schumer:
Telephone: 202-228-3027
Fax: 202-224-0420
http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/contact.cfm

For Senator Gillibrand:
Telephone: 202-224-4451
Fax: 202-228-0282
http://gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/

If you don’t know who or where to call or email? Visit http://www.senate.gov/.

Let Your Senators Know:
1. You Vote and You Oppose the New Nelson Amendment;
2. The Senate bill already contained the abortion restrictions of current law, and the New Nelson amendment must go.

Next, Contact Your House Representatives!
Get on the phone and call your Representatives TODAY. They are back in their districts. You can also click here to find their contact information.

Let Them Know:
1. You Vote and You Oppose the New Nelson Amendment and the Stupak-Pitts Amendment;
2. The Capps Amendment already contained the abortion restrictions of current law, and the New Nelson amendment and Stupak-Pitts Amendments must go.

While you have their attention, ask your Senators and Representatives:
1. When did it become the right of individual states to pick and choose which federally recognized civil rights they will enforce and which ones they will ignore or obstruct?
2. What would they do if a state refused to enforce anti-Jim Crow legislation or desegregation laws?
3. States that only provide exchanges that do not include abortion are doing just that. They are picking and choosing!

Your House members are now home in their districts, and your Senators will be soon, as well. The holiday season is a good opportunity to drop by their district offices or call them. Demand that they stand strong against the new Nelson Amendment and the Stupak-Pitts amendment.

Details about the New Nelson Amendment
(from Raising Women’s Voices for the Health Care We Need)

“Legislative experts are still evaluating what the new language on abortion will mean in practice, but here are some bullets on what we think we know so far:
* States can choose to prohibit abortion coverage in the insurance exchanges they will be setting up. That would affect private plans offered through the exchange, and it would affect all women getting insurance through the exchange whether they receive subsidies or not.
* Federal funds cannot be used to pay for abortion services except as allowed by the appropriation for the Department of Health & Human Services. This is confirms that as long as the Hyde amendment restrictions — prohibiting use of federal funds to pay for abortion except in cases of rape, incest or threat of life to the mother — are in place, federal funds cannot be used to pay for abortion services in this health insurance plan either.
* Any person who enrolls in an insurance plan that covers abortion will have to make two separate payments – one to pay for the cost of the abortion services in the plan and another for the rest of the services. It’s not a rider, but it’s likely to create some of the same barriers that making abortion coverage available through riders would have. For example, people may be less likely to choose the plan that covers abortion, just as they would have gone without the abortion rider, because the separate payments will highlight their decision to buy abortion coverage, something they might like to keep private, and because they don’t anticipate needing the coverage.
* Insurance plans have to estimate the cost of abortion coverage and segregate the funds received to pay for that coverage. The estimate must not be less than $1 per enrollee, per month. State insurance commissioners must ensure that plans are complying with the requirement to segregate funds.
* Plans that cover abortion must provide consumers with notice of that coverage as part of the summary of benefits and coverage explanation, at the time of enrollment.
* When information is provided about plans in advertising or by the exchanges or by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, it will report the payments in a combined way, rather than dividing cost of the abortion coverage from that of other services.
* Health plans cannot discriminate against providers or facilities because they’re unwilling to provide abortion.
* No state laws are pre-empted by abortion provisions of the bill, and no federal laws on abortion will be affected either.”

ELECTION 2010
This Health Care Reform Process is a clear example of the importance of the election of only 100% pro-choice candidates to office.

In Congress and the New York State Senate anti-choice lawmakers still outnumber pro-choice leaders.

Choice Matters needs your help to change this.

We have made progress over the years, but in local elections we saw success by anti-choice forces with the election of a Right-to-Life County Executive and an anti-choice County Vice-Chair.

Support Choice Matters through contributions and volunteering. The battle over the 2010 elections has already begun!

Thank you for standing by your pro-choice convictions and supporting women’s access to abortion.

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ALERT – Take Action

As you read this, Senate majority leaders are working to gain the support of the 60 senators needed to pass a health reform bill. Everything is on the table-especially abortion and any form of the public option.

Senator Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), who proposed the Senate version of the Stupak-Pitts amendment, says he will not vote for the final bill without additional restrictions on abortion coverage.

Yesterday, President Obama met with anti-choice Senator Robert Casey (D-Pa.) to discuss options for the handling of abortion coverage.

(Remember the Stupak-Pitts Abortion Ban Amendment came in the 11th hour, in the middle-of-the-night negotiations!)

Another problem facing the Senate Leadership is Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Conn) who has stated that he will not support a public option or a Medicare buy-in. He has threatened to vote to sustain a filibuster if the buy-in option is included.

The “buy-in” is a provision, negotiated last week as an alternative to the public option, that would allow people ages 55 to 64 to buy into Medicare.

However this problem may have been resolved. Senate Democrats met Monday night and appear to have decided to omit both the public option and the Medicare buy-in to appease Senator Lieberman.

Even if the bill passes in the Senate, it is unclear how they expect to sell a no-form-of-public option health care bill to House Democrats who have demonstrated their commitment to the public option.
In an effort to unite the Senate majority around health care reform, President Obama invited all Senate Democrats to the White House this afternoon.

TAKE ACTION TODAY

Call your Senators and Tell Them:
1. Not to compromise any further on abortion restrictions in order get the vote of anti-choice Senator Ben Nelson. The Nelson-Hatch amendment which mirrored the Stupak-Pitts amendment has already been defeated, and an abortion compromise should be off the table!

New York’s Senators are Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand.
For Senator Schumer:
http://schumer.senate.gov/new_website/contact.cfm
Telephone: 202-228-3027
Fax: 202-224-0420
For Senator Gillibrand:
http://gillibrand.senate.gov/contact/
Telephone: 202-224-4451
Fax: 202:228-0282
If these are not your senators, you can reach your senators through the Capitol switchboard — 202-224-3141

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Finally, Good News To Report!

By a vote of 54-45, the Senate rejected the Stupak-like amendment co-sponsored by Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT).

Their amendment closely mirrored the language of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment included in the House bill which bans abortion coverage from any health care reform-even in insurance coverage that now provides it.

You Made This Happen! This success is due to each and every one of us who spoke out. Our Senators heard us loudly and clearly.

Please take the time to thank Senators Schumer and Gillibrand for voting for the motion to table this amendment.