Rolling Back Abortion Rights

Letter to the Editor, published 1-20-10 in Philadelphia Inquirer:

Re: For health care, a frantic ride (1-17)--

Once again, in their haste to pass a reform bill, Congress is leaving the hot-button issue of abortion language to the last minute, practically guaranteeing that access for women to a full range of health care will be denied, not in plain language, but inevitably. While women will benefit from almost any measure the US Congress enacts for health care reform, especially the prohibition against gender rating by insurance companies, it will be at the expense of rolling back hard-won gains.

It matters whom we elect. We need lawmakers who see women as half the population, not just another special interest group. Feminists who believe individuals, not the state, retain the fundamental right to decide what happens within their bodies should heed the newest installment of this old lesson: it doesn't matter if the legislator is a woman, or Democrat, or Progressive, if women's reproductive rights are not dearly held they will always be a political football, easily sacrificed for the sake of compromise.

Caryn Hunt
President, Philadelphia NOW