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Congress and Women
Five Awful Things Congress Will Likely Do to Women This Year
When Republicans took control of both houses of Congress last November, women across the country felt a slight twinge in their uteruses—and with good reason. Over the past four years, states have enacted 231 pieces of anti-choice legislation. Last year alone, 15 states signed 26 new abortion restrictions into law, and 57 percent of women live in states that the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health non-profit, has deemed hostile towards abortion rights. With Republicans now firmly in control of the House and Senate, the abortion restrictions we’ve seen at the state level are about the get their moment in the national spotlight. Welcome to the 114th United States Congress—where no uterus will be left behind.
1. The Handmaid’s Tale 500
The echoes of the gavel were still ringing through the House chamber on Monday when Reps. Trent Franks (R-AZ) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) sprinted toward the podium to introduce a ban on abortions after 20 weeks. In a “post-race interview,” Rep. Blackburn said, “I think we have a good bill out there. Our crew was top-notch and we had a smooth ride coming out of the chamber pit. A few more races like this and we’ll be bringing home the trophy.” Rep. Blackburn then turned and doused Rep. Franks with Gatorade.
2. Life (and Hookers!) For Me, But Not For Thee
On Wednesday, Senator David Vitter (R-LA) introduced not one, not two, but FOUR pieces of anti-choice legislation, including a bill that would allow medical professionals to refuse to perform abortions, even in cases of emergencies. If you’re thinking this doesn’t seem very “pro-life,” please remember that Sen. Vitter has waged war against marriage equality while violating the sanctity of his own marriage with an assortment of prostitutes. Consistency is not Senator Vitter’s strong suit.
3. The Phyllis Schlafly Campus Sexual Assault Prevention Act
With five pieces of anti-choice legislation introduced in the first 48 hours of the new congressional year, 2015 is looking like another harsh year for women. Thank goodness everyone’s favorite miserable relic has our backs. When asked how to reduce the number of sexual assaults pervading college campuses, 218-year old Phyllis Schlafly suggested eliminating student loans and restricting the number of women admitted to college. This would appeal greatly to the legislative haters of the Paycheck Fairness Act; the fewer women allowed into college, the less those women will bitch and complain about the disparity in pay since they won’t be able to find living wage jobs. Win-win!
4. Defund All the Things
There are three things guaranteed in this life: death, taxes, and a GOP-controlled Congress attempting to defund Planned Parenthood. Included in Senator Vitter’s fruit basket of anti-choice proposals is a bill that would do exactly that. And on Thursday, more than 80 House Republicans introduced their version of the bill. What would defunding Planned Parenthood do? It would drastically reduce access to contraception, screening for and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, cancer screenings, and basic health care. What it won’t do is reduce the number of abortions performed by Planned Parenthood. Why? Because Planned Parenthood is prohibited from using federal funds for abortion care BY LAW. A law that’s been in place since 1976. So this Congress will spend an untold number of hours decrying the evils of Planned Parenthood in an attempt to strip their federal funding which would inhibit access to contraception which would increase the number of unintended pregnancies, thereby increasing the number of non-tax payer funded abortions at Planned Parenthood. Anti-Choice Logic 101.
5. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Women’s reproductive rights have been turned into a twisted game of Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better. At the state level we’ve seen proposals of abortions banned after six weeks, abortion permission slips, flat-out denials of the right to an abortion, and a whole host of other anti-choice madness. While it’s easy (and even necessary) for me to take a satiric tone here, what this all boils down to is the right of women to live their lives as they see fit, and not at the mercy nor the whim of an elected official hoping to score points with the big donors back home. Our physical autonomy is at stake—control over our actual bodies. And when you don’t vote and you don’t fight, you surrender your agency to the powers that be: these guys.
What could possibly go wrong?
Everything.
Gina Loukareas is a Boston-based writer, social media strategist, and activist. She's one of the co-founders of A is For..., a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting reproductive rights.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by LoveLife&Laughter on
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GOP Does Damage Control After Abortion Bill Embarrassment
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/22/20-week-abortion-ban_n_652...
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Permalink Reply by ProblemAgain on
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and if you can't outlaw abortion, you take steps to make sure small businesses don't offer health plans which include abortion rights
Republicans Include Tax Hike In Latest Abortion Bill
Posted: 01/22/2015 10:58 am EST Updated: 1 hour ago
WASHINGTON -- After a botched effort to pass legislation imposing a 20-week ban on abortions, House Republicans are moving forward Thursday with what's being dubbed a less controversial bill that codifies a ban on federal funding for abortions.
The bill would do a number of things -- including block federal funds for abortion for women who are in the military, who live in Washington, D.C., and who are poor -- but one aspect of the legislation that hasn't received much attention is the fact that it would raise taxes on the vast majority of small businesses.
The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act would deny small businesses a tax credit they currently receive through what's known as the SHOP exchange, a part of the Affordable Care Act, if they include abortion care in their health plans. Roughly 87 percent of private plans include abortion services as part of comprehensive coverage, meaning the bulk of small businesses would be hit with a tax hike if the bill were to become law.
Republicans are on track to pass the bill later Thursday. A spokesman for Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), the author of the bill, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) said the legislation is "nonsense" for many reasons, including its tax hike on small businesses.
The bill "penalizes small businesses that offer comprehensive health coverage to female employees," Pingree said. "It's just outrageous."
The measure, which Republicans are pushing now to coincide with the anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, isn't likely to make it out of the Senate. It takes 60 votes to advance it there, and there are only 54 Republicans.
Thursday marks the third time the GOP bill has gotten a House vote since it was introduced in 2011. It's changed over the years: Its exemptions for rape and incest were initially limited to cases of people being "forcibly raped" and only to survivors of incest who were minors. Those narrowed restrictions were later stripped out.
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