Katha Pollitt
makes the right points in the
Nation. A Taste:
You know what I don't want to hear right now about the Stupak-Pitts amendment banning abortion coverage from federally subsidized health insurance policies? That it's the price of reform, and prochoice women should shut up and take one for the team. "If you want to rebuild the American welfare state," Peter Beinart writes in the Daily Beast, "there is no alternative" than for Democrats to abandon "cultural" issues like gender and racial equality. Hey, Peter, Representative Stupak and your sixty-four Democratic supporters, Jim Wallis and other antichoice "progressive" Christians, men: why don't you take one for the team for a change and see how you like it?
For example, budget hawks in Congress say they'll vote against the bill because it's too expensive. Maybe you could win them over if you volunteered to cut out funding for male-exclusive stuff, like prostate cancer, Viagra, male infertility, vasectomies, growth-hormone shots for short little boys, long-term care for macho guys who won't wear motorcycle helmets and, I dunno, psychotherapy for pedophile priests. Men could always pay in advance for an insurance policy rider, as women are blithely told they can do if Stupak becomes part of the final bill.
Update: Here's
TPM's take on
what the practical effects may be...which will be all the poor-to-middle-class women who will take part in the Exchange...and 21Million are expected to partake....the Jist:
What conclusions to draw from this? The uncertainties are substantial, but it's safe to say that, initially, a minority of women, and a minority of abortions will be impacted by the Stupak amendment. Those women will be very disproportionately poor and middle-class. And their ranks will grow as the exchanges open to larger businesses and a greater percentage of the population.
AND: an argument about
what health care means to women, irrespective of the abortion debate.
4 comments:
For what it's worth, I read this week the vast majority of women who have abortions don't use their private insurance to cover it anyway, preferring the anonymity of paying by themselves. Just another sign of the stigma our culture has forced on people.
It reminds me of a commentary I read when BO visited the Pope. An American reporter asked why the issue of abortion wasn't heavily covered by European press during the visit and the response was that abortion simply isn't a litmus test issue over there. People understand it's a difference and leave it at that.
But what do those godless Eurosocialists know anyway?
Nice man - I finally get back up on the blog and you're there waiting to engage me! I like it!
I'm so discouraged about everything....i mean everything.
There's always Australia.
I don't know about Australia. It's already getting shit on by global warming. Maybe if you had aims to be the Woody Guthrie of New South Wales than sure.
When you live in a patriarchal society that abuses everything than the abortion amendment should not be a surprise. And considering all our leaders our spineless you really have to change the paradigm if you want see the actual way to make things better.
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