Stupak’s Army On The Move
by digby
Stupak’s army will be working this forever. Having laid the groundwork during the health care fight, they’ll have people screaming about how their tax dollars are used for murderous purposes in all 50 states. (Never mind that they are used to murder hundreds of thousands of already born people, including babies and children, in various part of of the world.)
New state legislation that would sharply restrict abortions in Pennsylvania was condemned on Friday by a statewide abortion rights group, Pennsylvanians for Choice. A bill introduced by Sen. Don White, R-Indiana, would prohibit private health insurance plans sold in Pennsylvania’s state “exchange” — created under the new federal health care law — from offering abortions and require rape victims to report the crime within 72 hours in order to receive an abortion. The insurance exchanges, which don’t go into effect until 2014, will serve those who do not have access to employer-based health plans, including the unemployed and small business employees. Under the law, any health insurance plan that contracts with the exchange must create a system to ensure no federal funds are used for abortion coverage — including the collection of two separate payments from the beneficiary, one for abortion coverage and one for all other health care coverage. The proposed bill would deny insurance plans participating in the exchange from covering abortions except in cases where the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest, or where the life of the woman is in danger. The bill would require also rape survivors to personally report the crime and identify the assailant, if known, within 72 hours in order for their health insurance to cover an abortion procedure.
That last is just punitive — essentially punishing the rape victim for failing to properly report a crime by forcing her to pay out of pocket for an abortion if she chooses to have one. What on earth does insurance have to do with the circumstances of conception? And why should it have anything to say about whether a woman names her rapist? (But hey, they aren’t trying to stone the rape victim so they’re actually really nice people and we shouldn’t be rude to them by calling them unpleasant names that evoke primitive laws to control women.)
The pro-choice movement will now have to devote precious, scant resources to fighting this as well as the other assaults on the right to choose around the country. And if Roe is ever overturned — not impossible in the next few years — they’ll have to fight with everything they have, state by state. Forever.
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