No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Bill (H.R. 3) Passes House!The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion (H.R. 3) is not a reiteration of bans already in place but an extreme and wholesale attempt to dramatically reduce abortion access. The bill was introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) On May 4th, 2011, 251 Representatives voted YES.
This bill discriminates against women and restricts their right to comprehensive, legal medical care.
If it becomes law, H.R. 3 will: - Raise taxes on individuals and employers that purchase private health insurance plans that cover abortion. Denying tax credits and barring tax deductions will make plans that cover abortion both unaffordable and unfavorable. This is a huge distinction from the "status quo" where 87% of private insurance plans cover this procedure. - Establish a federal ban on abortion insurance coverage for low to middle income individuals and small business owners and their employees by denying coverage of abortion on the health care exchanges.
Note: states are already allowed to pass their own ban of such coverage under the new health care law.
- Make it more difficult for victims of rape to obtain coverage for abortion, and if rape and incest victims pay for their own abortion and claim the medical deduction, they could be left facing an IRS audit to prove the rape or incest.
- Refuse any exceptions for a woman's health. There are no exceptions to enable access to coverage for abortion in cases where a woman's health is in serious danger - even for cancer or heart disease - or where the fetus has no chance of survival.
- Permanently codify the deadly Hyde amendment into law. Hyde denies federal Medicaid funding for abortion to low-income women except in the cases of rape, incest, or saving the life of the woman. This will permanently restrict abortion access for women in the military, in federal prisons, and the Indian Health Service. The Real Deal:
Federal funding for abortion has been banned since the 1976 passage of the Hyde amendment. In case there were any doubts of this, Obama signed an executive order last year clarifying that the health care reform law will not allow federal funding for abortion. In response to the bill's introduction Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stated definitively about current law, "There is no taxpayer funding for abortion." Learn More:
Listen in: NOW-NYC on Radical Women's Health Threats
GOP's Plan to Redefine Rape
H.R. 3 Passes House - Huffington Post
Get the bill here
Take Action: What you can do NOW
1. Make sure the Senate stops this bill! Contact your Senators and tell them that H.R. 3 discriminates against women. Ask our pro-choice Senators Gillibrand and Schumer to stop this legislation now.
U.S. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224- 3121
What you can say: I'm pro-choice and I deeply respect the value of life, especially the lives of women and girls who will be put at risk by the passage of the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion bill, H.R. 3.
Send them a link: What Happens When There is No Abortion Access
2. Did your Rep vote for H.R. 3? Find out here, then Email your rep NOW! Tell your Representative why YOU care about protecting women's abortion access, which is LEGAL under U.S. law. It's important to send a thank you, if you're Rep voted against the bill. See how all New York State Reps voted.
3. Forward this message to your friends across New York and the country, and post on facebook and twitter.
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