Bart Stupak vs. Women’s Rights: A Battle of Epic Abortions

Amber Reed

Undergraduate/Creative Writing

Oh hi. You may remember me from such articles as “Why are You Blue?,“ “You Can’t Write-Off Human Rights,” and “Universal Deathcare.” Needless to say I’ve taken quite a liking to political affairs (as every American should since politics more or less run our lives) and I’ve made it pretty well known that I tend to find the most commonsense among the liberal ideas. So naturally, on the night of Saturday November 7, I spent the night on a couch watching our U.S. Congress pass a healthcare bill in a 220 to 215 vote.

I’ve been a huge advocate for national healthcare reform and, of course, a strong public option. When this came before Congress for a vote, it was exciting and nerve racking waiting to see what our representatives would decide. The debates were fascinating and it was remarkable to see the kind of passion some had for not only healthcare but the needs of the American people. And when the bill was passed, the relief and happiness and the sense of accomplishment was overwhelming.

However, many, and accurately so, feel the only reason the bill received a majority vote was because of the Stupak amendment attached to it. This amendment, which was passed minutes before the final vote, concerns financial support for abortions, and is said to have swayed conservative Democrats into voting for the healthcare reform bill.

As it stands, the bill includes federal subsidies for those Americans who cannot afford insurance on their own and companies will be required to offer coverage to employees with punishments for those companies or customers who do not cooperate. Premiums cannot be heightened because of gender or medical history and coverage cannot be refused based on preexisting conditions. There will also be a federally regulated place for Americans to look around for different coverage.[1]

The Stupak amendment states that federal subsidies cannot be used to buy any insurance plans covering elective abortions. Those seeking abortions will still be allowed to pay for them out of pocket, and it will not prevent coverage in the cases of rape, incest or the health of the mother.[2]

So, the healthcare bill that was passed says that every American will receive financial aid when it comes to health insurance. Those who cannot afford it will be given the opportunity to be covered, employers will offer coverage, and no American woman can use that help for a legal medical procedure. Not to mention, that with the Stupak amendment, low-income citizens are totally pigeonholed into basically never being able to (for lack of a better term) take care of an unwanted pregnancy, even though abortion is PERFECTLY LEGAL. So thanks for passing something that will either drive the people already living in poverty into deeper financial crisis by forcing them to pay out of pocket for this procedure, or increasing the level of those living in poverty (not to mention plunging the poor even deeper into poverty), continuing to overpopulate the world, diminish the standard of living in the U.S., and put more Americans into a job market where we can’t provide jobs for those already alive.

If you ask me, and even if you don’t, this amendment does nothing more than shove morals of a religion many Americans do not follow or believe in down our throats. Last time I checked church was supposed to be separated from state. And therefore, this amendment is unconstitutional. I, as a woman, have a right to say, “No, I don’t think at this time in my life I can financially support a child. I think I’ll wait until I won’t have to buy formula with food stamps and could possibly provide a plentiful household chockfull of every opportunity every American deserves. Thanks.” And whether or not God knew my baby before it was born is irrelevant considering I don’t believe in an invisible talking man in the sky. You can believe whatever you want, but as a country, we cannot use morals to pass laws telling women what they can and can’t do with their own reproductive organs.

Some may say that this amendment does not say women can’t get abortions, and they’d technically be right. Which is good, because we don’t want to adopt some kind of pseudo-Nazi ideology by forcing women to give birth. We hate the Nazis. Oh wait…by not providing the money to get this procedure done when all other medical procedures will be covered, this amendment gives way to a bill that is giving those without the fat bank accounts no other choice than to not get an abortion. So yeah, making it next to impossible for women to take control over their own reproduction is exactly like making abortions illegal.

But it’s fine. You’re just being good Christians by following this amendment. And with programs like No Child Left Behind (which is completely ass backwards) you can still sleep at night thinking that you actually care about the American people and children and not just about spreading your moral agenda across the country while smoking your Cubans and contemplating your next affair because if there is a Heaven, you’ll be first in line since you don’t hate babies like the liberals do. You just hate the poor. And women. And minorities.

I’m thinking our Founding Fathers might be a little pissed off about the hypocrisy in all this. Because let’s face it, the Stupak amendment bans financially attainable abortions to the women of this country and the people in Congress who support it have long since mentally aborted all the citizens of the U.S. that they don’t find to be living up to their religion’s moral standards.

And it’s all good for the members of Congress, because they’ll never have to make that choice (to live in deeper poverty because getting an abortion meant spending all available money or having a child and living in deeper poverty with the cost of raising another human being) because they’d have the money either way. It’s good to know that as long as you and your own are covered medically the American people at least take a close second…after you finish those 18 holes of course, and that mojito, and test drive that new Escalade, and…

So now the bill is in the Senate, where the public option is going to be watered down (but really, at this point, any public option is progress) but some asshat named Orrin Hatch is fighting to keep Stupak-esque legislation in the bill. At this point, I don’t even see this as about abortion anymore. This is about the fact that our government is too easily swayed with fancy wording and scare tactics into discriminating against the poor. Those are the people you’re supposed to be fighting and standing up for! With amendments like Stupak’s, and apparently now Hatch’s, I don’t even know if I want the bill to pass. What’s the point of giving the American people a helping hand when it comes to healthcare, but making sure there’s always a catch to keep them exactly where you want them: beneath you?

Sources:

[1] “House Healthcare Vote: Breaking Updates.” Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/07/house-health-care-vote-br_n_349468.html

2 “Stupak on the Stupak Amendment.” The Atlantic. http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/11/stupak_on_the_stupak_amendment.php