We say no to Stupak

ON DECEMBER 2, several women's rights organizations, including the National Organization for Women, NARAL and Planned Parenthood, called a "day of action" to oppose inclusion of the Stupak Amendment in proposed health care legislation.

According to the amendment, which was passed in the House version of the health care bill with the approval of 64 Democrats and 176 Republicans, insurers that want to participate in the health insurance exchange established by legislation and sell their product to government-subsidized consumers can't cover abortions.

Not only would this amendment cut even deeper into poor women's ability to obtain abortions, but it would reduce access to all women who seek abortions, since many insurers will choose not to include abortion coverage.

Anti-abortion senators, including Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), say they are ready to offer an amendment similar to the one authored by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.).

Hundreds turned out for a rally in Washington D.C., where the effort focused on lobbying members of Congress. But in other cities across the country, pro-choice activists organized their own protests, pickets and speak-outs to show their opposition to Stupak and support for women's access to abortion.

In Chicago, some 30 activists turned out downtown to protest the Stupak amendment December 2. Members of Illinois Choice Action, Planned Parenthood, the Chicago Single Payer Action Network, the National Council of Jewish Women, the International Socialist Organization, the Chicago Abortion Fund and others were on hand during the lunchtime rally at the State of Illinois Building to speak about the impact that the Stupak Amendment will have on women's lives--and why the fight for abortion access needs to be revived more generally.

Holding signs that read "Health Care for Every Community" and "Stop Abortion Coverage Ban," protesters took turns on a bullhorn to speak about the devastating impact that the Stupak Amendment will have on women's lives and health--especially working-class and poor women.

In between chants of "What do we want? Choice! When do we want it? Now!" protesters spoke about the betrayal of the Democrats, who are pushing forward the Stupak Amendment in the name of "compromise" with the right wing--even as disastrous programs like abstinence-only sex education continue to be funded at the federal level.

As one member of the Chicago Single Payer Action Network noted, the fact that Sen. Ben Nelson is now proposing an amendment similar to Stupak for the Senate health care bill is a slap in the face. The only real solution to the crisis in America's health care system, he said, would be a universal, single-payer plan--one that included full funding for women's health care, including abortion.

At a small but energetic rally, organized by a coalition of campus feminist groups in Columbus, Ohio, about 20 students and faculty spoke out against the Stupak Amendment.

Leah Apothekar captured the mood when she told the campus paper, The Lantern. "I'm not going to be silenced...Obama promised us we wouldn't lose our rights with the new health care plan. I'm going to hold him to it."

In Cambridge, Mass., dozens of pro-choice students protested at the Harvard T station, carrying signs such as "Abortion is not a class-based right" and "Call your senator to oppose Stupak." They passed out flyers explaining, "Legal restrictions do not stop abortions from happening, they just make abortions dangerous."

Supporters of women's right to choose also took part in protests at the Capitol in Madison, Wis., and on the steps of City Hall in San Francisco.

Many pro-choice activists, frustrated with the Democrats' willingness to bargain away women's right to choose, are beginning to strategize about how they can begin building the kind of pro-choice movement that the politicians can't ignore.