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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsOregon Democrats Kill Health Bill Because It Included Abortion Provision. Shocked me.
I thought maybe Democrats around the country were learning that compromising with the extremist right was a dangerous thing. But this article mentions that Democrats have a "supermajority", and they still killed the bill.
From RH Reality Check:
Oregon Democrats Kill Reproductive Health Bill Because It Included Abortion Provision
An Oregon bill that would have codified the right to affordable, full-spectrum reproductive health care was killed by the states Democratic leadership last week because of a provision that would have increased access to abortion.
Backed by a coalition of progressive lawmakers and activists, SB 894, the Comprehensive Womens Health Bill, appeared strong coming out of the gate in the Democratic-led legislature.
Im proud to be working with such a wide range of legislators and advocates on this issue, state Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward (D-Beaverton), one of the bills chief sponsors, told RH Reality Check when the bill was introduced in February. Weve got Republicans and Democrats, men and women, and advocates from across the spectrum who care deeply about this bill.
The proposal would have required all health insurance plans to cover a wide range of reproductive health services, including contraception, abortion, prenatal care, childbirth, and postpartum care, at low costs. It would also have allowed pharmacies to dispense a 12-month supply of birth control at one time, and reduced cost sharing and deductibles for abortion care.
But the language on abortion proved a sticking point even for the Oregon legislature, which has a Democratic super-majority and a track record of supporting abortions rights. Senators in the health committee failed to even give the bill a hearing date, killing it by default.
The cowardly way out...why they did not want to vote on it.
Aimee Santos-Lyons, director of programs for Western States Center, told RH Reality Check. The Western States Center backed the bill. Senators didnt want to be asked to vote on abortion and have that on their record. They find it a difficult issue to go public on.
That's just shameful.
villager
(26,001 posts)Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)Because if batshit crazy Republicans like it, it must be good.
villager
(26,001 posts)Otherwise, people might disapprove...
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)Loyal followers' jobs are to shout anyone down who points it out. Win win! We gotta keep expanding that tent. Because as long as we win, we don't care what the prize is.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)It's been used as an excuse forever.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Zorra
(27,670 posts)Why is this so difficult for so many to grasp?
If a woman does not want to have a child. she should not be forced to have a child.
Duh.
BlancheSplanchnik
(20,219 posts)A fetus's life is more important than a woman's. That has got to be the belief operating at a deep level for these people.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)And it's an out of control ruthless attack on women. Stunned Oregon would do this.
BlancheSplanchnik
(20,219 posts)Such as empathy and respect for people's lives was the attitude there.
Well, women better start getting loud about our own needs. We jump in to support every other cause, help every other person...we better get busy doing it for ourselves.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)All states except Oregon now limit abortion access
"Roe v. Wade guaranteed abortion as a legal right across the country. A separate decision two decades later, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, guaranteed states' rights to limit access to abortion, so long as it did not pose an "undue burden" on the woman.
States have, over the past four decades, made no short use of that latter right. Only one state, Oregon, has not layered additional restrictions on top of the Roe decision. At the other end of the spectrum is Oklahoma: With 22 abortion restrictions, it has more than any other state. The chart below, courtesy of Remapping Debate, has the full list. You can also go here for an interactive version of the graphic, which will let you look at what type of restrictions each state has set."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/31/all-states-except-oregon-now-limit-abortion-access/
cascadiance
(19,537 posts)It sounds like there must be a senator that doesn't want to vote for this bill, and yet doesn't want to have it visible that this person is standing in the way of this getting passed. It sounds like we need to find out who this person is.
"Democrat" Betsy Johnson used to be the one that "equalized the vote totals" when she sided a lot with Republicans over the last few years, before we picked up two more seats this last election. I wonder if Johnson was going to vote against this too even though as a woman it might be harder for her to do this, even if she's siding with the Republicans a lot. There must be one more Democrat though that is being a problem to get the new majority to work for them.
ErikJ
(6,335 posts)Luckily theyre outnumbered by Portland to Eugene valley. So there are Con Constituents to think about.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Time to think about what is right. Not what is expedient.
AngryDem001
(684 posts)They DON'T THINK!!
They are INCAPABLE of thought!!
They need Rush Pigman and FOX NOISE to tell them what to think!!!
ErikJ
(6,335 posts)whether GOP or Dem they have to appease the Cons. majority.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)AngryDem001
(684 posts)Senators didnt want to be asked to vote on abortion and have that on their record. They find it a difficult issue to go public on.
COWARDS! COWARDS! COWARDS! COWARDS!
GODDAMMIT!!! You fucking sniveling little COWARDS!!!!
FUCK YOU!!!
Skittles
(153,226 posts)next thing we know they will be pimping for guns
bullwinkle428
(20,631 posts)position when it comes to women's reproductive health?
Big K&R for this.
Buzz Clik
(38,437 posts)Not sure how this got twisted around...
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)With sources.
Buzz Clik
(38,437 posts)madfloridian
(88,117 posts)But the language on abortion proved a sticking point even for the Oregon legislature, which has a Democratic super-majority and a track record of supporting abortions rights. Senators in the health committee failed to even give the bill a hearing date, killing it by default.
....Health committee chair Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson (D-Gresham), who was also a sponsor of the bill, did not schedule it because she didnt think she could get the votes from her caucus, and it was absolutely because of the inclusion of abortion in the bill, Aimee Santos-Lyons, director of programs for Western States Center, told RH Reality Check. The Western States Center backed the bill. Senators didnt want to be asked to vote on abortion and have that on their record. They find it a difficult issue to go public on.
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/04/15/oregon-democrats-kill-reproductive-health-bill-included-abortion-provision/
They were afraid to take a stand. Your rudeness toward me does not change a thing.
More from the article:
Monnes Anderson told local media outlet the Lund Report as much:
Monnes Anderson said some members objected that the language about abortion be included alongside protections for contraception, pregnancy and post-partum care. Both Monnes Anderson and Steiner Hayward declined to say who opposed this part of the bill.
Monnes Anderson said the abortion language was so toxic that leadershipher caucus leadersCourtney and Rosenbaum, would not even allow her to have a public hearing on SB 894, let alone move it to the Senate floor. She said House Democratic leaders were also involved in the discussion over whether the bill could see the light of day
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)Something other than being "not as bad" that is.