Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
US Rep. Engel and NYS Sen. Krueger Speak Out Against Unwarranted Abortion Restrictions
July 27th, 2010 by catherineREP. ENGEL – HIGH RISK POOL ABORTION EXCLUSION IS UNACCEPTABLE
Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) strongly disagreed with the decision to exclude abortion coverage from the new high-risk insurance pools. In effect, the policy decision will adversely affect middle class women, especially those with serious medical conditions.
“I strongly believe that the United States government should not be in the business of restricting rights and preventing people from medical treatment. The government should not be using the lives of low-income and middle-income women as a political football any longer.
“Fighting constantly to allow women to maintain their right to choose is difficult enough when we are battling the Republicans in Congress or the conservative tilt of the Supreme Court, we don’t need to have it come from our allies. Women who will be in the high risk pools – temporary coverage through 2014 for those who cannot afford insurance due to serious health problems – are oftentimes going to be women whose lives and health will be at extreme risk from an unwanted pregnancy.
“This order prevents women from spending their own money on coverage. This Executive Order essentially makes the Stupak Amendment the law of the land. States will be stripped of the option to cover these situations. Planned Parenthood has called this rule “harmful to women” and they are absolutely correct. This is simply unacceptable.
“No one anticipates having an abortion and so it’s both insulting, and an invasion of privacy to single out this one procedure. I will continue, as my 21-year 100% pro-choice record shows, to fight for a woman’s right to choose.”
The Stupak-Pitts amendment to the House-passed Affordable Health Care for America Act states that anyone who receives limited tax credit assistance to purchase mandated health insurance, may not access a plan that covers abortion, and should instead purchase stand-alone abortion coverage. The final law did not contain this amendment, instead including a lesser Senate-passed version. The health insurance reform law had already prohibited federal funds from being used for abortion before any amendments were added.
Click Below to read NYS Senator Liz Krueger’s letter to President Obama.
Tell the White House & HHS: “We Don’t Accept These New Abortion Restrictions!”
July 17th, 2010 by catherineThursday the Obama Administration shocked women’s health organizations everywhere when it announced it would exclude abortion coverage from the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (the temporary high-risk insurance pools created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to transition us into the new health care plan).
What that means is that thousands of women with serious medical conditions will not be able to access abortion care, even if their health is at further risk. (For example, what about women with cancer and the impact the change in hormone levels resulting from pregnancy has on their tumors!)
The White House has imposed a Stupak-like Ban on the most vulnerable of women, those with serious pre-existing medical conditions.
Just like Stupak, this decision bars women with pre-existing conditions from using their own money to buy abortion coverage through the high-risk pools.
Don’t Be Fooled! The Obama Administration did NOT have to do this!
The restrictions on use of federal dollars for abortion coverage do NOT apply. Even though federal dollars are being used to subsidize these new high-risk pool insurance plans, there is no requirement that abortion coverage be restricted. Neither the Hyde nor the Nelson Amendments apply here.
The Hyde Amendment restrictions on use of Labor-HHS appropriations for abortion coverage do not apply to this new appropriation, and the Nelson Amendment abortion restrictions do not apply to the high-risk pool plan section of the law.
The Administration has voluntarily adopted these new abortion restrictions.
Contact the White House and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius NOW.
Tell them this decision is unacceptable!
Tell the administration that women with pre-existing medical conditions need abortion coverage!
To reach the White House:
Call: (202) 456-1111
Email:
public@who.eop.gov
To reach the Department of Health and Human Services:
Call: (877) 696-6775
Email: http://www.hhs.gov/feedback.html
A Gift To Choice Matters – Donna Barkman’s Hand-Me-Downs: Scenes from a Life (with a little help from Antigone and Mother Goose)
July 8th, 2010 by catherineOn Sunday, July 18th, at 4:30, Donna Barkman is performing Hand-Me-Downs: Scenes from a Life.
Barkman, a natural-born rebel, reviews her life, integrating the anger of Antigone and the nonsense of Mother Goose, as she dramatizes constrictive gender roles and prescriptive motherhood.
Tickets are $10.00, with all proceeds donated to Choice Matters.
This fascinating play will be performed at The Bean Runner Café which is a trendy new eatery located on the corner of South Division and Esther Streets, and is a celebration of food, entertainment and art. The menu is eclectic and funky, ranging from humus or Caribbean chicken sandwiches to fruit smoothies and soup, as well as imported beer and wines.
201 South Division Street
Peekskill NY
914-737-1701
beanrunnercafe.com
We hope to see you there!
