In Congress: The year ahead for reproductive rights (1/22/2008)
Last year, the 110th Congress held great promise for furthering reproductive
rights. New leadership in the House of Representatives as well as in the
Senate buoyed supporters’ hopes that legislators would finally be able to halt
the escalating erosion of reproductive freedom. The challenges encountered
in 2007, however, demonstrate that we still have a long way to go.
As we commemorate the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the second session of
the 110th Congress begins. Now is the perfect time to renew your
commitment to reproductive freedom. Join the ACLU’s Action Network and
receive periodic updates about what you can do to push for real change this
legislative session.
Below are brief discussions of the major legislative issues concerning
reproductive rights to watch in the coming year:
Restore Access to Affordable Birth Control
For years, pharmaceutical
companies provided clinics serving low-income women and college students with
affordable birth control. This all changed when a provision in the 2005
Deficit Reduction Act unintentionally prevented these clinics from continuing to
receive oral contraceptives at a discounted rate. As a result, more than
three million college students and hundreds of thousands of low-income women are
currently without affordable birth control.
On campuses, birth control prices have skyrocketed from $5 or $10 up to $40
or $50, and some colleges have stopped dispensing oral contraceptives
altogether. Meanwhile, many health centers serving low-income women have
been forced to cut back on other services, including prenatal care and screening
for cervical cancer, to compensate for the rising costs of birth control.
Reproductive rights advocates have pursued numerous avenues to fix this
problem, including working with members of Congress to introduce legislation in
both the House (H.R. 4054) and Senate (S. 2347); however, the battle to restore
access to affordable birth control will continue in 2008. Restore access
to affordable birth control. Join the ACLU’s Action Network.
Support REAL Sex Education
For those on Capitol Hill who support teens’
access to complete and medically accurate information about reproductive health
care, 2007 proved to be a roller coaster.
The REAL Act, a measure that would create the first federal program to
provide states with funding for sex education programs designed to help teens
make smart decisions about postponing sex and using contraceptives effectively,
remained stalled. Worse still, some leaders in Congress were ready to
provide abstinence-only-until-marriage programs with one of their largest
funding increases to date. In addition to being proven ineffective, many
of these programs censor information, reinforce gender stereotypes, provide
inaccurate and misleading information, and sometimes promote religion.
The fight for support for effective sexuality education is sure to continue
in 2008. Tell Congress to support REAL sex education, and to put a stop to
funding failed abstinence-only-until-marriage programming.
Increase Funding for Family Planning
Last year, when Congress passed its
federal spending bill for Fiscal Year 2008, Title X, the nation’s family
planning and preventative health care program serving more than 5 million
low-income women and children, received its third largest increase in 25
years. Even with this increase, however, funding for Title X has not kept
pace with inflation, and additional increases are still necessary to meet the
growing need for family planning services.
Advocates will renew their efforts to expand access to safe, affordable and
effective contraception by working to pass the Unintended Pregnancy Reduction
Act of 2007. Introduced in both the House (H.R. 2523) and the Senate (S.
1075), the measure would improve access to contraceptives by strengthening
Medicaid coverage for family planning services. Increase funding for
essential family planning services. Join the ACLU’s Action Network.
Protect Women’s Health, Repeal the Hyde Amendment
For more than 30 years,
Congress has banned federal funding of virtually all abortions for low-income
women. Under the Hyde Amendment, a low-income woman can rely on Medicaid
to absorb health care costs associated with carrying a pregnancy to term;
however, if she decides instead to end a pregnancy, with a few rare exceptions,
coverage is denied. Changing more than thirty years of bad policy will
take real political will and we need your help to make it happen. Stand up
for low-income women’s health. Sign the petition to repeal the Hyde
Amendment.
Rescind the Global Gag Rule
In 2001, President Bush reinstated the Global
Gag Rule, which prohibits the United States from granting family-planning funds
to overseas health clinics that use their own funds to advocate for legal
abortion, perform legal abortions, or counsel and refer women for
abortions.
Not only does the Global Gag Rule threaten women’s health in countries where
unsafe abortion is the leading cause of maternal mortality, it abandons our
nation’s deep-rooted commitments to free speech and democracy.
Last year, Congress sought to reverse this devastating policy.
Unfortunately, under the threat of a presidential veto, both the Senate and
House dropped provisions that would have allowed overseas health clinics,
otherwise ineligible for assistance, to receive U.S.-donated condoms and
contraceptives. Advocates are strategizing for 2008 and hope to build on
last year’s efforts. Improve women’s health care worldwide. Join the
ACLU’s Action Network.
Become a Reproductive Freedom Fighter
Help us protect your right to
reproductive freedom throughout the coming year. Receive regular updates
on federal legislation and become part of the ACLU Action Network.
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