While I am thrilled to see us moving toward national health care, I am disgusted that we're going to throw women, especially poor women under the bus to do it.
The Stupak Amendment
As drafted, the measure denied the use of federal subsidies to purchase abortion coverage in policies sold by private insurers in the new insurance exchange, except in cases of incest, rape or when the life of the mother was in danger. (source The Huffington Post)
Allow me to share an important statistic with you...
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. It also increased disproportionately among Black and Latina women. (Source Guttmacher Institute.)
So basically if you are among the most likely candidates to need the government subsidized insurance policies, you are also in the highest risk group for unintended pregnancy. And rather than have the option of a perfectly legal and safe medical procedure, you will be screwed again.
An abortion costs about $500. For some women, that is more than they make in a month. If you make minimum wage, which is 7.25 an hour and are lucky enough to work 40 hours a week, you're clearing 290 a week before taxes. Most likely it's closer to $203 after taxes, which we'll call $200 for ease of math. That's 800 a month. An abortion is then 63% of your monthly take home pay for that month. Where are you going to get that money? Working a full time job at minimum wage is not a worst case scenario, either...in many cases I've dealt with, it's a BEST case scenario.
Let's talk about real reasons women get abortions....(source Guttmacher Institute) Women could (and did) cite more than one reason, so it doesn't add up to 100%
A--The I already have kids and can't take care of another one---I empathize here. In fact, personally I have a lot more respect for these moms than I do for the ones I met when teaching in an urban school district who just kept popping them out with different dads every few kids. I don't care what Octo-mom says or what the Duggars say...there is a limit to how many kids you really can give individualized attention to, and one of your jobs as a parent is to know when to stop having kids. Your first responsibility is to the kids you already have. If you have too many kids, it's time to think about permanent birth control (Earth to Michelle Duggar...your vagina isn't meant to be a clown car--19 is TOO MANY CHILDREN). This is the most common reason cited when women are asked why they're having an abortion. 74% say it's obligation to others. 69% say it's because a baby would interfere with school/employment or ability to care for other dependents. 38% cited being done with childbearing.
B-I can't afford a baby right now--Those right to lifers who want us to keep our unborn children? Where are they when it comes time to raise them? Because if I recall correctly they're usually the ones railing against welfare moms, calling them leeches and voting against programs like Schip which would have given insurance to poor kids. As the child of a single mom who grew up on welfare, I can honestly say that the best thing my mom for me was to not have another child... Had I gotten pregnant in college I would have had an abortion without a second thought. I had to declare bankruptcy, something that's only coming off my credit report in the next year, so I could finish school...you bet your ass I would have had an abortion to stay in school and avoid the kind of renting a trailer, working at Burger King, buying my kid's "good" clothes and shoes at Kmart because we had to. 73% say it's because they can't afford a child. 69% say it's because a baby would interfere with school/employment or ability to care for other dependents.
C--Abusive Partners--in the case of the abusive partner, they need an abortion that they can claim was a miscarriage (I've seen it and anyone who's worked at a clinic can tell you this is an all too common story). They can't suddenly make 500 dollars disappear from the money, especially if the partner controls the purse strings (which they often do). We make sure that what they wouldn't prefer is to keep the baby and get their asses to a women's shelter, but all to often you can't change their mind. They know that they don't want to bring a baby into an abusive home, but just can't get out themselves (volumes about the psychology of this have been written) 48% Cite being a single parent or relationship problems
D--The partner left them--The boyfriend who promised to marry them and help them raise the baby when they told them about the baby decides a few weeks later that no, they'd rather be young and party. The woman thinks about it and does not want to be a single mom or can not raise a child on her own for whatever reason (I need to finish college, I already have three kids, whatever) and needs an abortion. 48% Cite being a single parent or relationship problems
E--This pregnancy was an unwanted accident. Sometimes you're done having kids and use alternative birth control. Sometimes it fails and you get pregnant and you don't want any more kids. So you have an abortion. 38% cited being done with childbearing.
People like Stupak just don't think when they think about abortion. It's all emotion or calculated pandering to his base. It has nothing to do with the real life experiences and rationales of the real women who are going to clinics every day. Because they just don't care.
Here's the thing. Republicans are bitching about how much health insurance for all will cost... You want to save money? COVER ABORTIONS. $500 is a hell of a lot cheaper than the cost of a woman's prenatal care and delivery plus 18 years of care for the child.
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