The New Health Bill, Federal Medicaid Funding, and Provisions for Abortion

At the present time, federal Medicaid funding only helps to fund abortions due to rape, incest and life endangerment. In my opinion, to be fair and truly overhaul our existing health care system for the common good of all people, the federal Medicaid funding should include the funding of abortions due to any physical health damage to the woman and fetal abnormalities as well. In fact, from 1977 to 1979, federal Medicaid funding used to cover abortions due to rape, incest, life endangerment and physical health damage to the woman; however, over time, the Hyde Amendment, which specifies what abortion services are covered under federal Medicaid funds, has chipped away at the federal funding for abortions and does not include federal Medicaid funds to cover abortions due to physical health damage to the woman or fetal abnormalities. At this time, funding for abortions due to physical health damage and fetal abnormalities to the woman is left for the state funding under Medicaid to cover. As a result, some states Medicaid funds cover abortions due to the physical health damage to the woman and fetal abnormalities and some states Medicaid funds do not. How can this be true? Do we as a Nation devalue our mothers and sisters so much so that we would block them from receiving funds to cover abortions due to physical health damage to their persons and fetal abnormalities?

According to the National Abortion Federation, low-income women already face barriers when trying to access comprehensive reproductive health care such as: the lack of providers, state laws delaying women from receiving timely reproductive health care and funding restrictions like the Hyde Amendment. In this day and time women who are Medicaid eligible and would choose abortion as opposed to carrying their babies to term cannot gain access to their legal right to choose abortion because of the federal funding restrictions imposed by the existing Hyde Amendment and this is not acceptable to me. This practice shouldn't be acceptable to any rational minded human being. Right now because of the Hyde Amendment, there are women who don't have the money to pay for abortion services who may resort to self-inducing an abortion or obtaining unsafe, illegal abortions from untrained practitioners. In addition, according to the National Abortion Federation, the Hyde amendment harms the health of women by denying coverage for abortion services in cases where women have serious physical or mental health concerns.

Thankfully, on Tuesday, December 8, 2009, the U.S. Senate voted to reject the anti-women's health and women's rights anti-abortion Nelson/Hatch amendment with a 54-45 vote. The Nelson/Hatch anti-abortion amendment mirrors the Stupak Amendment which did pass in the U.S. House Of Representatives on November 7, 2009. If the Nelson/Hatch Amendment would have passed in the Senate, then there would have been even more restrictions placed on women's access to abortion coverage by prohibiting the use of federal funds from covering any part of a health care plan which covered abortion. Furthermore, women would need to purchase a rider to their insurance policy which would only cover abortion. The Nelson/Hatch Amendment would have eliminated abortion coverage under the new health insurance exchange.

As women we are able to sigh with relief briefly because our rights to protect our own bodies remain intact for the fleeting moment; however, we must take the stand daily to keep our rights in this day and time. We need to applaud Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-California and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California for being courageous enough to take the floor and speak from the heart regarding women's rights! If the Nelson/Hatch Amendment would have passed, our society would have taken leaps and bounds backwards in time for women's rights. In actuality, to arrive at reproductive equality, we must rid ourselves of the Hyde Amendment, which was allowed to pass and blocks our rights as women to make the choice to have an abortion.

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