We need health care reform, and we need it now — but women can’t afford new restrictions on abortion coverage. Tell Congress to pass health care reform immediately — and protect women’s access to comprehensive reproductive care.
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Health care reform is within our grasp, and we can’t afford to let it fail now. Members of Congress need to hear from everyone who cares about health care reform and women’s health. Tell Congress to pass health care reform immediately.
Issue Brief: Impact of Stupak Amendment on Access to Abortion Coverage and Care
Activist Toolkit
Simple Q&A and health care reform in under 60 seconds.
Questions and Answers on the Nelson Abortion Check Provision
Stupak ban in the media
Celebrities work to pass health care reform and stop the abortion coverage ban
The road to health care reform:
January 14, 2010 — As the House and Senate versions of the bill are combined, anti-choice extremists and their allies in Congress are demanding that the Stupak amendment be included in the final bill.
December 24, 2009 — The Senate passed the health care reform bill. Planned Parenthood will fight the abortion access obstacle during conference in January. Learn more about the bill here.
December 19, 2009 — Planned Parenthood opposes the new abortion language offered by Senator Nelson in the manager's amendment. Last week, the Senate rejected harsh restrictions on abortion coverage and it is a sad day when women's health is traded away for one vote. The amendment creates an unworkable system that leaves tens of millions of women without abortion coverage.
December 8, 2009 — Great news! The Senate voted on the anti-choice Nelson/Hatch amendment to health care reform, and we won. Unlike the Stupak amendment that passed the House of Representatives, this amendment did not pass the Senate. Find out how your senator voted.
December 2, 2009 — Planned Parenthood activists and the Coalition to Pass Health Care Reform and Stop Stupak! lobbied members of Congress to ensure comprehensive reproductive health care, including abortion, is covered in health care reform. More than 35,000 e-mails were delivered to the Senate.
November 8, 2009 — Last night the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that will undercut women’s access to comprehensive health care. Despite hundreds of thousands of voters like you and me who called on members of Congress to include women’s health care in health care reform, the bill that passed would effectively ban private abortion coverage for millions of women in the United States, even if they are paying for the full cost of the coverage. To learn more, read the statement from Cecile Richards, President, Planned Parenthood.
November 7, 2009 — The House of Representatives voted to adopt the Stupak amendment. Planned Parenthood condemns this unacceptable addition to the health care reform bill that, if enacted, would result in women losing health benefits they have today.
See how your representative voted on the roll call record for the vote.
October 5, 2009 — Groups that want to defeat health care reform, led by anti-choice extremists who are desperate to use legislation to block women's access to care, have been lobbying Congress for months. And the worst part is that lawmakers are listening.
Anti-choice extremists aren't just trying to deny uninsured women access to reproductive health care — they're fighting to make sure that women whose private plans currently cover abortion care lose their access as well.
Here's the situation we face: right now, senators are hearing a lot more often from opponents of women's health than they are from supporters. Call your senators today and tell them to stand up for women's health. And this is the important part: we need you to commit to keeping up our side of the debate by calling until health care reform that protects women is a reality.
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The health care debate has come down to one thing: abortion. Anti-choice lawmakers want to do more than keep currently uninsured women from gaining access to comprehensive health care — as unconscionable as that is on its own. Their goal is to force all plans within the insurance exchange — including private plans that individuals pay for on their own — to deny coverage for abortion.
If our opponents are successful, access to abortion will be practically eliminated in health care reform. And without access, there is no choice. The consequences for women, for our rights, and for our health care, are dire. They're dangerously close to getting their way.
It's clear that months of relentless pressure by a small, vocal bunch of anti-choice extremists who will stop at nothing to get rid of a woman's right to choose — even if it means that millions upon millions of women, men, and children would remain uninsured — is working. Right now, Planned Parenthood is diverting as much time and money as we possibly can toward stopping them. Please join us with an emergency contribution today. We need all the help we can get.
Stopping this effort comes down to one simple thing: we have to be louder, stronger, and more aggressive than the anti-choice groups.
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Expressing their firm backing for health care reform and the importance of women’s health, Planned Parenthood affiliate CEOs, staff, and supporters have published op-eds and letters to the editor in their local newspapers.
Health care reform is an important goal — but it can't come at the expense of women's health. As one of the leading providers of contraception and other reproductive health care in America, Planned Parenthood will continue to stand up for the health of women and their families.
Want to do even more?
You can do your part to set the record straight on health care reform by writing a letter to the editor of your local paper, or simply by talking with friends, family, or co-workers. It’s critical that we all set the record straight and educate others about women's health and essential community health providers like Planned Parenthood.
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