Healthcare Reform: Women’s Health Once Again Used as Bargaining Chip
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 21, 2010
Healthcare Reform: Women's Health Once Again Used as Bargaining Chip
Washington, D.C. – In reaction to the House's passage of the healthcare bill and the last-minute efforts by reproductive health opponents to further restrict women’s reproductive choices, Siobhan “Sam” Bennett, President/CEO of WCF, released this statement:
“The need for healthcare reform cannot be overstated. Women and children have an especially high stake in the improvement of healthcare, and this historic bill starts us on a path to expanding and improving their access to basic health services. With women's insurance premiums costing up to 48% more than men and over 15 million women having no coverage, healthcare reform could not wait. We applaud Congress for taking this bold and necessary step."
"However, throughout this healthcare debate, one thing has remained clear: Women’s health continues to be used as a political football. Instead of focusing on improving the healthcare needs of all Americans, U.S. Congress debated further restrictions to reproductive health. Once again, we watch as women's health falls to the cutting room floor."
"Not only should this serve as a wake-up call on the second-class status of women in our country, but also how critical women’s representation in government truly is. If women held 50 percent of the seats in Congress, attacks on women’s health would be minimal and rejected if proposed.”
“If women had equal representation in Congress, amendments like Stupak-Pitts and Nelson-Hatch would not stand a chance of passing. But with women only comprising 17 percent of Congress, women’s health is consistently vulnerable—and will continue to be attacked until more women’s voices are part of the debate.”
“If we want to ensure that women’s health will be valued and protected in the future, we must support female candidates now. We need more women in public office who support reproductive health choices - on both sides of the aisle. Only when we have equal representation at all levels of public office can we begin to fix the years of anti-choice, anti-woman legislation passed in this country.”
“I look forward to the day where we can truly focus on fixing the problems of our society—instead of how to continue controlling the personal, private medical decisions of Americans.”
Contact: Erin Cutraro, 314-827-6149
