Abortion and the healthcare debate

President Obama's struggle

EHM reported at the end of September that the issue of abortion was set to complicate the healthcare reform in America, as some opponents of abortion believe that it shouldn't be covered in the healthcare reform bill. But now an amendment inserted at the last minute in the healthcare reform legislation approved by the House of Representatives is putting the delicate issue in the spotlight again.

President Obama is concerned about abortion restrictions in the healthcare reform bill passed by the House on Saturday and has called on Congress to make revisions.

Tensions that have lurked below the surface of the healthcare debate exploded into the open when more than 60 Democrats in the House approved the amendment adding new restrictions on access to abortion for women. The manoeuvre helped ensure the passage of the legislation in the House last Saturday. The US Senate is scheduled to begin debating its version of reform early next week.

President Barack Obama and other Democratic Party leaders have tried for months to keep the lid on debate about abortion, as in any country, the subject of abortion is a very delicate one.

The President expressed his worry that this issue could kill the healthcare reform, stating, "This is a healthcare bill, not an abortion bill," during an interview with ABC News.

Access

There's already a federal law in place - the Hyde amendment of 1976. This bans federally funded programs like Medicaid from covering abortion, except in the case of rape or incest, or if the mother's life is endangered.

The House bill goes further though. It not only bans the use of federal money to buy insurance plans with abortion coverage, it bars insurers that receives federal subsidies from offering these policies to anyone - even to women who do not use federal subsidies. That's a significant stretch beyond the Hyde restrictions.

Access to abortion, particularly for poorer women, would be narrowed further under the amendment introduced to the legislation by Congressman Bart Stupak.

The Stupak amendment aims to ensure that abortions will not be available under the new system to women with health coverage subsidised by Government money. It also stops insurers from including abortions in their coverage plans if they participate in proposed health insurance exchanges designed to make it easier for lower-income people and small business owners to get insurance.

Defenders of abortion

The amendment would make it impossible for some women to obtain coverage for abortions even when they are ready to pay for it with their own money.

"There's going to be a firestorm," warned Diana DeGette, a Democrat who opposed the amendment.

"Women are going to realise that a Democratic-controlled House has passed legislation that would prohibit women paying for abortions with their own funds... we're not going to let this into law."

Nancy Keenan, the President of NARAL-Pro Choice America, condemned the vote as "extremely disappointing and outrageous" and vowed that the "fight isn't over yet."

Senator Barbara Boxer of California is among those now determined to have it erased before a final law reaches the desk of Obama, something that supporters hope will happen by Christmas.

"This amendment is unfair and discriminatory toward women," she declared. "We've had a compromise in place for decades that has been fair. Anything that disrupts that compromise is a huge step back for women."

In reality, few women in the US who obtain abortions claim back the costs for them even if they have coverage, usually for reasons of privacy, the British paper The Independent states.

Like this article? Get the RSS feed: