Republicans have controlled the abortion debate for too long. Past time for Progressives
to go on offense.
Great article!
On January 22 of this year—the forty-second anniversary of Roe v. Wade—the Republican-dominated House of Representatives passed a bill that, among other things, would make permanent a ban on abortion coverage for low-income women. The measure was opposed by Democrats (save three), and President Obama promised to veto it if it ever got to his desk.
While such progressive resolve is worth celebrating, know this: The ban, also called the Hyde Amendment, has been in effect almost continuously since 1977. What exactly does the Hyde Amendment do? In a nutshell, it denies federal Medicaid coverage for abortion care to women already struggling to make ends meet. Every year, it comes up for approval as part of the appropriations process. Every year, Democrats fail to stop its enactment.
The recent Republican effort underscores the fact that conservatives continue to play offense on the issue of abortion affordability. It is time for progressives to do the same. This abhorrent policy must be ended—and progressives can make that happen by pursuing a left-flank legislative strategy that challenges the status quo.
The State of Play
Unable to make abortion illegal, abortion opponents have pursued an incremental strategy to make the procedure inaccessible. Over the past four decades, they have enacted a series of federal and state restrictions that may seem reasonable at first glance, but in fact interfere with women’s personal decisions and make it impossible for many to end a pregnancy. The most pernicious of these is the Hyde Amendment.
This draconian law forces approximately one-fourth of Medicaid-eligible women who would have had an abortion if the funds were available to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term. Those who manage to find the resources to pay for an abortion out of pocket must often make great sacrifices to divert the needed funds from other essential expenses—risking eviction, having their heat shut off, or going hungry, among other outcomes.
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http://www.democracyjournal.org/36/from-pro-choice-to-pro-coverage.php
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