Today, Planned Parenthood is organizing a “National Day of Action” to inform people about the Stupak Amendment and to lobby the Senate for health care reform that ensures women’s access to reproductive health care. Their bullet points below very clearly (finally!) outline how exactly the Stupak Amendment would affect women’s lives and health (because let’s face it, when you hear “The Exchange” and “affordability credits” and “subsidies” mentioned vaguely in the news, it goes in one ear and out the other). So if you’re a woman or you care about one (i.e. everyone) then take a minute to familiarize yourself with this important — and frightening — info. [Our own added notes are in brackets below.] Then send a quick and easy email to your Senators today:
The Bottom Line
- Essentially the amendment violates the underlying principle of health care reform, as articulated by President Obama, that no one will lose the benefits the currently have.
- Under the Stupak amendment, millions of women would lose benefits that they currently have and millions more would be prohibited from getting the kind of private sector health care coverage that most women have today.
- Millions of women would lose private coverage for abortion services and millions more [i.e. unsubsidized women with health insurance plans in the exchange] would be prohibited from buying it even with their own money.
- Women’s access to private coverage for abortion would be severely restricted by health care reform.
