As various health reform bills move through House and Senate committee, coverage of reproductive health care, including but not limited to abortion care, hangs by a thread, and the drumbeat from the far right against coverage of primary reproductive health care has been growing louder. …
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I don’t think we have a choice; we have to “bring it”.
Because even if you don’t support the FULL spectrum of women’s reproductive health care (you should), I can’t imagine anyone risking loss of well-woman exams, pap smears, STI tests, pregnancy care, and other forms of primary, preventive reproductive health care. We have to change the inaccurate stereotype that reproductive care is “only abortion”. So wrong!
Even if you’re a man, you either have a sister, wife, mother, grandmother, cousin, aunt, co-worker, neighbor, partner, friend…you get the picture…who is a WOMAN. This impacts you, too.
If reproductive health care is used as a pawn, tossed out as a “bipartisan” bargaining chip to get Republican and Blue-Dog Dem votes on a health care reform package, we ALL LOSE.
Cutting reproductive health care will NOT improve the system, will NOT save money, and WILL result in a sicker, riskier populous.
I’m purposely stopping here – so much more I could say. But it’s YOUR turn – let’s start a disucssion.
And let’s talk about how NOW becomes part of the list of groups “mobilizing constituents to protect coverage of basic reproductive health care”. Because WE ARE MISSING in her article. We know that’s wrong, but we have to make others know WE’RE HERE, TOO…and in fact, we can lead.
Read the article, make calls/write to Congress and the White House, and DISCUSS!
You’re so right that this is a slippery slope, Jess–once folks like Bachmann, Oberstar and Peterson get themselves whipped up into a “moral” frenzy, it’s only logical that they will want to eliminate coverage for contraception and STI screenings.
We’ll all lose.
Oberstar is the Rep. for my district, but he has NEVER represented me, or any other Woman in his district, very anti-contraception, not to mention abortion. Wouldn’t even support EC to serviceWomen, even tho military rapes are at a record high, his reasoning, it would lead to promiscuity in the military. He sits on the Board of Susan B Anthony list, a very nasty little group. My only claim to fame with him, he sees me coming, he crosses the street to avoid me.
Love the idea of NOW getting outfront with this, we need to be visible. I hear we have a new VP of Action at National, and she’s all about ACTION, this would make a great action-alert or petition drive. Let me know what I can do to help.