[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 169 (Monday, November 16, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2770]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR AMERICA ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Saturday, November 7, 2009

  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today to oppose the 
amendment offered by my colleague, Representative Bart Stupak. I know 
that he is following his own conscience, but I want to preserve the 
right of women nationwide to follow their conscience as well. I support 
a woman's right to be either for or against abortion. The decision is a 
private one and it is a matter of faith as well as a matter of 
conscience, and it is supported by our Constitution.
  This amendment is not about federal funding for abortion . . . the 
current version of the bill and federal law, the Hyde Amendment, 
already prohibit spending tax dollars to finance abortions. This 
amendment goes beyond that language. It prohibits private health 
insurance plans that receive even one dollar of federal funding to 
offer abortion services to any of their customers. This eliminates 
coverage for an important health service that millions of women 
currently have. This amendment leaves women even worse off than they 
are now. I cannot support such all-encompassing language.
  There is a certain irony here that demonstrates how prejudiced this 
amendment is toward women. Insurance plans would allow a man to obtain 
Viagra and cause an unwanted pregnancy, but it penalizes women for 
becoming pregnant.
  Insurance is intended to cover the unexpected. Yet, this amendment 
would deny women the right to purchase their own coverage as part of a 
regular insurance plan. It will heap an ugly punishment upon those who 
often times can least afford it, and it will push women into the past 
of back-alley butchers.
  Today women are entitled under the law to a safe abortion. It is 
estimated that in California before the Roe v. Wade decision, about 
100,000 illegal abortions were performed each year. Abortion was the 
most common single cause of maternal deaths in California prior to 
1973. We should not turn back the clock. As we work to provide 
universal health for all our citizens, women should be protected. This 
amendment does nothing to advance this and I ask my colleagues to 
defeat it.

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