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Sorry Democrats: Women are split on abortion
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Stupak (2nd left) and other pro-life Dems. (AP Photo)
One of the big stories with the passing of the health care bill establishing a public option was the topic of abortion. Michigan Congressman Bart Stupak (rather courageously, I might add) got House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to allow a vote on his amendment banning the sale of insurance policies covering abortion through this bill. The Stupak Amendment passed, but split the Democrats, causing a rift in the party.
According to Politico, "Supporters of abortion rights were outraged - especially House Democratic women, many of whom view Stupak's legislation as a betrayal of a key Democratic commitment."
Many commentators on the left seem to agree.
Planned Parenthood responded to the passage of the amendment almost immediately.
Cecile Richards, President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, charged that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and “anti-choice opponents” have been able to “hijack” health care reform in their “dedicated attempt” to ban all legal abortion.
“On behalf of the millions of women Planned Parenthood health centers serve, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America has no choice but to oppose HR 3962,” Richards said,
Former director of the DNC, Karen Finney writes, "The members of Congress who voted in support of the Stupak amendment sent a message to America's women: after more than 200 years we are still not full citizens of the United States." She adds that "a group of mostly white men have decided to put additional burdens and increased difficulties of women."
Anything else?
Women already make less money than men - which means less money to pay for health care. We know that women statistically pay more for their health care than men. So less money for more expensive basic care. Now we are saying to women that the personal feelings of members of Congress can come before the legal rights of an American citizen.
This argument would make sense, except for one problem: women are just as likely to be against abortion as men. This shift towards "pro-life" has been going on for years. Also, if Planned Parenthood wants to talk about "what women want", maybe they should re-consider their support of Partial-Birth Abortion (dilation and extraction). Polls show that women (and men) overwhelmingly reject this procedure.
The reason I bring this up is simple; abortion is always portrayed as a "woman's issue" and elected officials voting against federal funding for abortion are being called "anti-women." But counting on women to support a pro-choice agenda unequivocally is a thing of the past, and to pretend otherwise is rather disingenuous.
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