The New Health Care Reform Legislation: Pros and Cons for Reproductive Health

The Guttmacher Institute has a rundown of the health care bill and its implications for reproductive health. Check it out here.

Georgia Senate Passes New Abortion Bill

I'm not sure how I feel about this bill. It claims to only punish those who try to coerce women to have an abortion, which is good. Obviously having the right to choose involves having the right to choose to not have an abortion. But for some reason this bill makes me somewhat nervous. The language feels too vague, and it kind of stinks of paternalism. I'm worried that this would be used to restrict access to reproductive services under the guise of protecting women. A few quotes from the debate to get you thinking:

While it is clear that black women make up more than a majority of the state’s abortions, Pearson said that in 64 percent of abortions in Georgia, “some form of coercion is present.”...

The bill drew intense criticism from pro-choice senators, who questioned the bill’s purpose and legality.

“This bill was created under the false assumption that abortion doctors solicit women of color, particularly, black women,” said Sen. Donzella James of College Park. “This bill calls into question all who make a deeply private and personal medical decision. Every woman, regardless of ethnic background, should have the ability to make personal decisions. Not the people in this room. It is between, she, her family and God.”

Obama signs executive order on abortion funding limits

Ugh. From CNN:

President Obama signed an executive order Wednesday ensuring that existing limits on the federal funding of abortion remain in place under the new health care reform law. ...

The White House has said the executive order reaffirms abortion funding restrictions first enacted in 1977.

"While the legislation as written maintains current law, the executive order provides additional safeguards to ensure that the status quo is upheld and enforced, and that the health care legislation's restrictions against the public funding of abortions cannot be circumvented," the White House said previously. ...

At one point, the abortion issue nearly derailed the reform bill. But after Obama promised the executive order, the anti-abortion Democrats switched their votes to "yes" to help pass the measure pass 219-212 on Sunday night.

Stupak had led the anti-abortion Democrats in opposition to the new health care law because, he claimed, it would allow federal funding for abortions beyond the current limits of cases of rape or incest, or if the woman's life is in danger.

The controversy centered on whether the bill would force all taxpayers into paying for abortions, by subsidizing insurance policies that pay for the procedure and by funding federal health clinics that might offer abortions.

Leading up to the vote Sunday night, the main focus of anti-abortion activists was the insurance "exchanges" created by the law, the new marketplaces in which businesses and individuals will be able to buy insurance.

Under the exchanges, there must be a plan that offers abortion coverage and another that doesn't, according to the measure.

To appease abortion opponents, Democrats also added language requiring anyone whose policy does cover abortion to pay -- separately -- a small surcharge, with the funds kept separate.

Stupak and other abortion opponents also complained about a lack of anti-abortion restrictions for new, federally run community health clinics, which would receive $7 billion under the legislation.

Yes they did. Great.

An Overview Of Abortion In The United States

From the Guttmacher Institute:

• Nearly half of all pregnancies to American women are unintended; four in 10 of these end in abortion.
  
  
• About half of American women have experienced an unintended pregnancy, and at current rates more than one-third (35%) will have had an abortion by age 45.
  
  
• Overall unintended pregnancy rates have stagnated over the past decade, yet unintended pregnancy increased by 29% among poor women while decreasing 20% among higher-income women.
  
  
• In 2005, 1.21 million abortions were performed, down from 1.31 million abortions in 2000.
  
  
• Nine in 10 abortions occur in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
  
  
• A broad cross section of U.S. women have abortions:
• 56% of women having abortions are in their 20s;
• 61% have one or more children;
• 67% have never married;
• 57% are economically disadvantaged;
• 88% live in a metropolitan area; and
• 78% report a religious affiliation.

EXPERT STATEMENTS

“Many Americans will welcome the news that there are fewer abortions, particularly among teens, and that a larger proportion of abortions are now happening very early in pregnancy," saysSharon L. Camp, president and CEO of the Guttmacher Institute. "But at the same time, abortions are becoming more concentrated among women of color and low-income women. This presents a clear challenge to policymakers to redouble their efforts to improve access to subsidized contraceptive services for these women, thereby helping them to prevent the unintended pregnancies behind these abortions from occurring in the first place.”

"For a long time, nearly 90% of abortions in the U.S. have taken place in the first trimester, but in recent years, women having an abortion have been able to do so earlier and earlier in the first trimester. Currently, more than six in 10 abortions occur within the first eight weeks of pregnancy, and almost three in 10 take place at six weeks or earlier,” says Rachel Jones, lead senior research associate at the Guttmacher Institute. “Medication abortion, which provides women with an additional option early in pregnancy, clearly reinforces this trend.”

"The United States has one of the highest abortion rates in the developed world, with women from every socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, religious and age-group obtaining abortions," says Lawrence Finer, associate director for domestic research at the Guttmacher Institute. "We study abortion so we can learn more about how well current efforts to improve contraceptive use and reduce unintended pregnancy are working, the circumstances under which women have difficulty accessing abortion and, ultimately, how to reduce the need for abortion."

“There really is no need to resort to far-flung conspiracy theories. Behind virtually every abortion is an unintended pregnancy. And because women of color are much more likely to experience unintended pregnancies than any other group, they are also more likely to seek and obtain abortions than any other group,” says Susan A. Cohen, director of government affairs at the Guttmacher Institute. “Fundamentally, the question policymakers should be asking is not why women of color have high abortion rates, but rather what can be done to help them have fewer unintended pregnancies and achieve better health outcomes more generally.”

See also: No Conspiracy Theories Needed: Higher Abortion Rates Among Women of Color Reflect Higher Rates of Unintended Pregnancy

U.S. Abortion Rate Continues Long-Term Decline, Falling to Lowest Level Since 1974; More Effort Still Needed to Reduce Unintended Pregnancy

Poorest U.S. Women Increasingly Likely to Face Unintended Pregnancies

Frustration Makes Pro-Lifers More Anti-Abortion Than Ever

(Sorry for the lazy hack job on this, I'll add more later)
"Anti-abortion advocates coined the moniker "pro-life" because they wanted to connect with the majority of Americans who supported abortion restrictions. A new poll shows just how anti-abortion the "pro-life" movement really is.

The new poll, by Gallup, shows that, since the nineties — and the wholesale adoption of political evangelicals into the Republican Party — anti-abortion Republicans have become increasingly opposed to abortion. In a bit of good news, the increasingly crazed rhetoric from those people has seemingly driven more Democrats to the pro-choice position.

Since 1990, however, Republicans polled by Gallup increasingly have grown more conservative about the issue while Democrats have become more liberal.

By 2009, more Republicans — by a 21-point margin — said abortion should be illegal "in all circumstances," and more Democrats - by a 19-point margin — said abortion should be legal "under any circumstances."

In all circumstances these days — if the Stupak Amendment for the health insurance "reform" bill is any guide — means they believe that abortion should also be illegal in the case of rape, incest, life of the fetus or health of the mother. For many anti-abortion advocates, it also means opposing Plan B emergency contraception, IUDs, birth control pills, the patch, the ring, women who fall down the stairs and probably any woman caught thinking bad thoughts about babies."

From Jezebel

Check out a related post at Sociological Images. Click for larger image:

Oklahoma House Passes Ultrasound Anti-Abortion Bill

The Oklahoma House voted 87-7 to require women who are considering an abortion to first undergo an ultrasound. From Valley Central:

The bill requires an ultrasound exam be performed at least one hour prior to the abortion. It says a physician or technician must explain what the ultrasound is depicting and display images of the fetus so the pregnant woman can see them. They must also provide dimensions of the fetus.

Best part though? It was already voted unconstitutional by the State Supreme Court two years ago. Way to spend those taxpayer dollars, dickbags.

Help Get Racist Anti-Choice Posters Taken Down

Remember that post I wrote earlier about those racist anti-abortion posters? Pissed off about them? Well now there is something you can do about it! SPARK Reproductive Justice Now has a campaign to get the posters taken down. Take action here.

See also: "Womb Lynching" at Jezebel and "To Court Blacks, Foes of Abortion Make Racial Case" at The New York Times

AIDS Walk New Haven Sign Up

AIDS Walk New Haven is taking place on April 11th at 1 pm; buses will run from campus to New Haven. A Wesleyan team is being organized and it would be great if you all could join! It is an awesome event to be a part of and will be a lot of fun.

If you're interested, please email your name, phone number, and wesbox number to wesleyanaidswalk2010(at)gmail(dot)com. You really need to email them as soon as possible because they need to know how many buses we need. I hope you all consider doing this!

Nicaraguan Abortion Law Puts Pregnant Cancer Victim at Risk

From Amnesty International:

Amalia (not her real name), 27, is 10 weeks pregnant and was diagnosed, on 2 February, with cancer which may have already spread to her brain, lungs and breasts.

The Nicaraguan authorities are impeding doctors from providing cancer treatment to her while she is pregnant because medical staff could face prosecution if they cause harm to the fetus during her treatment, even if the harm is caused unintentionally.
...
In 2006, prior to the ban on abortion introduced [sic], 21 Nicaraguan medical associations from across the spectrum of medical disciplines issued a joint public statement against the proposed total ban on abortion, with an explicit warning that health professionals’ ability to provide health care and practice their profession would be limited if the prohibition was passed.

On 18 February Nicaraguan NGOs and the largest professional gynaecological association in Nicaragua asked the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to request "special measures," which would require the government to fulfil its legal obligations to protect Amalia’s right to life and health and ensure she is immediately provided with treatment which could save, or at least prolong, her life.

Thanks to Lindsay Walsh for the submission!

Is there love after abortion?

Over at Viva la Feminista, Veronica asks:

Are we socialized to believe that despite study after study saying that women overwhelmingly feel relief after an abortion, that two adults in love must break up? That having an abortion dooms their romance?
...
what if an abortion was what saved a relationship instead of dooming it to be feel like a forced marriage? Allowing the characters to reexamine their lives and move on together?