FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 4, 2015
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Today, more than 170,000 signatures were delivered to Congress calling on lawmakers to protect every woman’s right to make her own health care decisions by supporting the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Woman Act. This bill would ensure all women—regardless of what they earn or where they live—have insurance coverage for abortion care by repealing the Hyde amendment restrictions that prevent millions of women from accessing all of their health care options, including low-income women, federal employees, and U.S. servicewomen.
Groups collecting signatures include: NARAL Pro-Choice America, CREDO Action, Daily Kos, National Organization for Women, Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, The Nation, Left Action, Lady Parts Justice, People for the American Way, Crooks & Liars, Silver Linings Action and Deluge.
View photos here: https://www.flickr.com/ photos/prochoiceamerica/ 22168126274/in/dateposted- public/
“I’d like to thank all the organizations, leaders and petition signers for their continued dedication to ensuring all women have access to reproductive healthcare. It is truly impressive to see so many Americans raising their voices and petitioning their government to ensure health equity for all,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee. “Every day, the rights of women are under attack and it’s past time to push back. Politicians should not be interfering with a women’s personal healthcare decisions because of how much she earns, where she lives or how she’s insured. The EACH Woman Act would finally end this practice.”
Read the petition here: http://www.signforgood. com/eachwoman/
“Every politician should support a bill to ensure that every woman has the freedom to access to the full range of reproductive care,” said Sasha Bruce, senior vice president of campaigns and strategies at NARAL Pro-Choice America. “Incomes and zipcodes should not be barriers to anyone getting the healthcare they need—we need our representatives in Congress to stand up for us all by supporting the EACH Woman Act.”
“No woman should ever be denied critical reproductive health services, including safe and legal abortion, simply because her health insurance refuses to cover her care,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Yet for decades, politicians have allowed discriminatory policies to block low-income women from the full range of reproductive health care coverage they need and deserve.
“The Hyde Amendment makes it almost impossible for low-income women to access safe, affordable abortions,” said Heidi Hess, campaign manager at CREDO Action. “And year after year, the annual renewal of Hyde legitimizes and perpetuates the false and dangerous idea that having an abortion is behavior that should be stigmatized.” Hess continued, adding, “It’s time for Congress to protect every woman’s right to make her own health care decisions by passing the EACH Woman Act and ending the Hyde Amendment once and for all.”
“All women must have the right to choose, not just those who can afford private health care,” said Chris Bowers, executive campaign director at Daily Kos. “It’s not a real choice if it depends on your wallet.”
“Abortion is a common and necessary aspect of women’s reproductive health, and by requiring it to be covered in all health plans the EACH Woman Act protects women’s health and lives,” said Terry O’Neill, president of the National Organization for Women. “Every member of Congress who claims to care about women’s well being should be a co-sponsor of this bill.”
“We’ve seen again and again that anti-choice activists will use every possible tactic to make sure women aren’t permitted to exercise their constitutionally protected right to abortion,” said Marge Baker, executive vice president at People For the American Way. “The Hyde Amendment has done immeasurable harm to women’s health and wellbeing. It’s long past time for it to go.”
“The EACH Woman Act is the first proactive piece of pro-choice legislation in decades, and marks a new, more assertive phase in the movement for women’s rights,” said Debra Cooper with Silver Linings Action. “Women’s decisions should never be made for us by conservative politicians faking moral concern in order to wrest back men’s longstanding power over our lives.”
This bill would repeal current-law bans on abortion services in government-administered health-care programs. Specifically, it would lift the ban on insurance coverage of abortion for women in Medicaid, Medicare, the Indian Health Service, U.S. servicewomen, federal employees, low-income women in Washington, D.C., and others. The bill accomplishes this by ensuring that federal insurance programs cover abortion services and prohibiting state, local, and federal governments from interfering with abortion coverage by private insurance companies.
NARAL Pro-Choice America and its network of state affiliates are dedicated to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom for all Americans. NARAL works to guarantee that every woman has the right to make personal decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including preventing unintended pregnancy, bearing healthy children, and choosing legal abortion. In recognition of its work defending our constitutional right to choose, Fortune Magazine described NARAL as “one of the top 10 advocacy groups in America.”
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