House Passes Radical Anti-Choice Bill that Endangers Women’s Lives

(PRESS RELEASE) Reviving recent efforts within Congress to
dramatically roll back women’s access to reproductive health services, today
the House of Representatives passed radical legislation that would ban abortion
coverage for millions of women across the country and allow healthcare providers,
including hospitals, to refuse a woman emergency abortion services, even if she
would die without it.

“It was only a matter of time before the new House jump
started its reign of tyranny against women across this country,” said Nancy
Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights. “This latest
measure—a repeat of last year’s failed attempts—strips women of the ability to
make private decisions about their own medical care and shamelessly allows
healthcare providers to refuse them life-saving treatment. This is a massive
government intrusion into women’s personal medical decisions—from politicians
who regularly tout the need for smaller government. No matter what your
politics, we should all be able to agree that it’s the government’s job to
protect your rights and health, not to trample on them.”

The “Protect Life Act” or H.R. 358 bans insurance plans in
the exchanges created by the new federal healthcare law from providing abortion
coverage, if a single person receiving premium assistance enrolls. Because a
great majority of individuals on the exchanges will receive subsidies, the bill
would essentially ban abortion coverage on the exchanges for everyone,
including those paying for coverage entirely with their own private dollars.

In addition, H.R. 358 includes a provision that allows
individual healthcare providers and facilities to refuse to perform an abortion
and to obstruct access to abortion services based on their religious or moral
beliefs. The bill also trumps federal law requiring emergency rooms to provide
patients necessary care.