Senator Gillibrand Attends Rally Calling For End of Stupak-Pitts

11/17/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Monday, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York attended a rally to call for the defeat of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment which was put into the Healthcare reform bill by the House. The amendment, largely pushed by the Catholic Bishops, has caused a great deal of reaction across the board, and energized a largely silent group of organizations which have, in the past, been vocal of their support for abortion rights. The list of who attended was made up of many of the leading lights in the women’s movement over the last several decades including figures like Gloria Steinem. NY City Council Speaker Christine Quinn was also among those attending. Many of those who were there, at least among the politicians, are also supporters of LGBT Rights. Certainly Senator Gillibrand and Council Speaker Quinn are.

There has been a great deal of blow back over this particular amendment. Many writers have gone back and forth on the necessity of this, but make it clear that it could end up hurting people all around and on both sides.

A recent article in the Daily Beast by Dr. Willie J. Parker explained his decision to begin to provide abortions. Initially, he refused to due to his religious convictions, but he watched as the lack of availability or the cost of an abortion compounded the pain and suffering already hurting many women, he changed his mind. “In my 15 years as an OB-GYN, I have seen what happens when women can’t afford the abortions they need…But my patients, their families, and their pain don’t matter to the architects of the Stupak amendment,” he stated in that article. He went further, however. “I have spent years learning how to take care of women’s health. But because of my religious beliefs, I didn’t provide abortions right away. It took me a while to realize that by refusing to end a woman’s pregnancy when she decides abortion is the best course for her, I was compounding her suffering, the very opposite of my goal as a physician,” he states towards the end of his article. He explains about two of his patients, women who needed abortions for different reasons, and the likely aftermath of the inability for them to get an abortion.

This video is of the press conference that was held yesterday. For our audience, what will follow the video is text of Senator Gilibrand’s speech.

This week the US Senate is set to begin debate on historic health care legislation to provide affordable, quality care to all Americans. As we begin this historic debate, we must commit ourselves to real health care reform that delivers equal health care for every single American.

Over a week ago, the House of Representatives passed a health care reform bill that delivers affordable, quality care, including a public plan that will bring competition to the market and drive down costs. However, there is one aspect of the House bill that is greatly concerning and moves us farther away from real health care reform: The Stupak-Pitts Amendment.

I am proud to stand here today with this broad coalition of important women leaders – doctors, businesswomen, teachers, public health experts, city, state, and federal elected officials and pro-choice leaders from Gloria Steinem, to Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Council Speaker Quinn to NARAL, Planned Parenthood and so many others to speak out against this discriminatory and dangerous anti-choice provision and ensure that we defeat any similar measures in the Senate this week.

By banning reproductive coverage in all subsidized plans, the Stupak measure would likely prevent women from purchasing insurance with reproductive care even with their own money. This would put the health of millions of women and young girls at grave risk.

While proponents of the measure say this is a continuation of current federal law, this amendment will, in fact, bring about significant change and dramatically limit reproductive health care in this country. This is government invading the personal lives of many Americans, establishing for the first time restrictions on people who pay for their own private health insurance.

We all agree that it’s important to reduce abortions in this country, and I will continue to work on many ways to reduce unintended pregnancies and to promote adoption. However, the Stupak amendment effectively bans reproductive coverage in all health insurance plans in the new system, whether they be public or private.

Proposing that women purchase a separate abortion rider is not only discriminatory, but ridiculous. It would require women to essentially plan for an event that occurs in the most unplanned and sometimes emergency situations.

There are currently five states that require a separate rider for abortion coverage, and in these five states it’s nearly impossible to find such a private insurance policy. In one state, North Dakota, one insurance company holds 91 percent of the state’s health insurance market and refuse toss even offer such a rider.

This anti-choice measure poses greater restriction on low-income women and those who are more likely to receive some kind of subsidy and less likely to be able to afford a supplemental insurance policy. Denying low-income women reproductive coverage in this way is discriminatory and dangerous.

Without proper coverage, women will be forced to postpone care, while attempting to find the money they need to pay for it. A delay that can lead to increased costs and graver health risks, particularly for younger girls. Or these women will be forced to return to dangerous, back alley providers.

In fact, this amendment represents the only place in the entire health care bill where the opponents are actually correct. It limits access to medical care by giving the government, not the patient or the doctor, the power to make medical decisions. The Senate bill already ensures that no federal tax dollars may be used to pay for reproductive services in any public or private insurance plan beyond cases of rape, incest, and life endangerment. The House language goes far further and should be removed from the final bill.

Women and girls deserve better.

I will work with my colleagues in Congress and everyone here today to oppose any similar amendment in the Senate and fight to end disparities among race and gender in our health care system. Thank you.