In a cynical and ideological move, anti-choice members of Congress, led by [Rep. Joe] Pitts and Rep. Bart Stupak, have adulterated the new health-care system to deny women the right to use their own personal private funds to purchase health insurance with abortion coverage. In doing so, the amendment makes it virtually impossible for private insurance companies to offer such coverage to any women, even if that coverage is not subsidized by the government.
The vast majority of private-insurance plans currently cover all reproductive health services; Pitts’ amendment prohibits companies that participate in the new system from continuing those existing plans. More importantly, putting such restrictions on insurance companies and women is equivalent to denying quality heath care for women by restricting access to abortion. This is a radical change that goes far beyond existing policy, and it violates the commitment that nothing in the new health-care system would eliminate existing coverage for individuals.
