Focus needs to be on health care and the millions of Americans who need real reform. Leave abortion where it ought to be: a private decision between a woman and her doctor.
Conservatives shouldn’t be hijacking health care to legislate on reproductive rights. The amendment would be a major shift in U.S. policy. It doesn’t just extend the status quo, which says no federal funds can cover abortion. It would make insurance coverage for abortion virtually unavailable for millions of women in the new health insurance exchange, even if they’re using their own money for coverage. It’s discriminatory and just plain wrong.
This article appears in Dec 3-10, 2009.