( – promoted by ek hornbeck)
Jon Walker and David Dayen, both of Firedog Lake are reporting tonight that the Stupak Amendment which virtually bars BOTH Private Companies AND the Public Option from providing coverage for Reproductive Health Care for Women will receive a Floor Vote tomorrow in the House.
As Jon explains-
Stupak’s amendment, by not allowing a private insurance company to sell a policy to anyone if they receive any amount of affordability tax credits, would make it impossible for a private insurance plan that covers abortion to survive on the individual and small group market. Stupak has threatened to bring down the entire bill if he does not get his amendment. Rep. Stupak called all previous “compromises” that had been offered “unacceptable.”
As David reports-
The Democratic leadership is making a bet that, if it doesn’t pass, Stupak and his cadres will sign on to the bill (I highly doubt it; most of them are no votes on health care entirely); and if it does pass, pro-choice Democrats won’t sink the bill entirely (also, I highly doubt it). I’m a bit surprised that it’s come to this. Also, Stupak appeared to have lied in the Rules Committee about how the deal “fell apart,” since he got what he wanted.
This is an enormous bet, and not a well-designed one either, in my view. The Democratic Party will tomorrow give a minority of their caucus an opportunity to amend a large health care bill that would effectively ban abortion services coverage in the individual and small group insurance market, essentially telling private insurance companies what they cannot cover.
Quoting the Washington Post, David continues-
The amendment is expected to pass with the combined support of more than 40 anti-abortion Democrats and virtually every House Republican. That likelihood meant that leaders of the much larger group of Democrats who support abortion rights were not happy to learn of the deal.
“There will be no abortion, not just with public funds, but with private funds under the public option, and that’s not acceptable,” said Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.).
House leaders met with that bloc of Democrats late Friday to try to quell their frustration., but the agreement makes clear that they believe abortion-rights Democrats will find it difficult to vote against the health-care bill even with such a restriction attached to it.
As far as I’m concerned this is a flat out deal breaker.
Health Care Reform with the Stupak Amendment is not worth passing and I intend to call the House Leadership and my Congressperson tomorrow to express that opinion.
I urge you to do the same.
9 comments
Skip to comment form
Author
Feel free to crosspost without attribution or link.
is already deeply flawed, passing this amendment would make it totally unacceptable. My blue dog representative has already stated he will vote no, I hope an am,endment like this won’t change his mind. I hadn’t called his office as of yet but I will later, as well as a call to Pelosi’s office. Goddess, this country is regressive and repressive.
passed, long, long ago.
She is not afraid ti put it on the line and say what she thinks
Men Who Cause an Unwanted Pregnancy
Warning the pictures in this thread are graphic and disturbing but go to the heart of this debate about women’s reproductive health. Why must it be only the woman who suffers the consequences of an unwanted pregnancy? This bill will force women to bear unwanted children if this amendment passes. I would prefer that it went down in defeatt than see this happen.