Results tagged “joe pitts” from Blog for Choice

What is the anti-choice leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives up to this morning?

Well, one key subcommittee is holding a hearing on corporations' right to refuse to cover women's prescription birth control.

Led by Rep. Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania (the infamous author of the "Let Women Die" bill), the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Heath is holding a hearing on the effect the health-reform law has on the so-called "conscience" of corporations.

The hearing focuses on the no-cost birth-control policy going into effect as a result of the health-reform law signed by President Obama in 2010.

Anti-choice lawmakers think employers who oppose contraception should be allowed to deny their employees a health plan that covers contraception. Ninety-eight percent of women--of all faiths and backgrounds--use birth control at some point in their lives.

NARAL Pro-Choice America believes that all women should have access to contraception coverage. That's why our organization submitted testimony to the subcommittee expressing our opposition to an expansive refusal clause.

The Huffington Post reported on anti-choice activists' concerted attack on birth-control coverage in a story titled, "The Men Behind the War on Women."

Follow the hearing now on Twitter, hashtag #bcrefusal.

And help us tell the White House that all women--regardless of their employer--should benefit from no-cost birth control.

Major news media organizations, including The Associated Press, CBS News, Politico, The Hill, The Washington Independent, and RH RealityCheck, turned to NARAL Pro-Choice America for analysis of how this bill would harm women's health.

H.R.358 would allow hospitals to refuse to provide emergency abortion care even when it's necessary to save a woman's life!

And it effectively would ban abortion coverage in state health-insurance exchanges, denying this coverage to millions of women.

Before the House voted on H.R.358, pro-choice Rep. Lois Capps of California proposed adding language that would have fixed the provision that allows hospitals to refuse to provide abortion care when a woman's life is in danger. But the House rejected her proposal by a vote of 173-249! It's no exaggeration to say that any member who voted "no" on this motion voted to allow a hospital to refuse emergency abortion care to a dying woman.

While Speaker John Boehner and the anti-choice House leadership wasted the American people's time with the seventh and eighth outrageous vote to attack women's freedom and privacy this year, many of our pro-choice champions spoke out on the House floor against this bill.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the pro-choice House minority leader, compiled some must-see videos of pro-choice representatives voicing their opposition to H.R.358.

A huge shout-out goes to Reps. Rob Andrews of New Jersey, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Lois Capps and Judy Chu of California, David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Joe Crowley of New York, Susan Davis of California, Diana DeGette of Colorado, Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, Ted Deutch of Florida, Donna Edwards of Maryland, Eliot Engel of New York, Janice Hahn of California, Alcee Hastings of Florida, Rush Holt of New Jersey, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, Steve Israel of New York, Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, Barbara Lee of California, Carolyn Maloney of New York, Doris Matsui of California, Jim McDermott of Washington, Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, Jim Moran of Virginia, Jerrold Nadler of New York, Frank Pallone of New Jersey, Nancy Pelosi of California, Mike Quigley and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, Jackie Speier of California, Betty Sutton of Ohio, Mike Thompson of California, Niki Tsongas of Massachusetts, Nydia Velázquez of New York, Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, and Henry Waxman and Lynn Woolsey of California.

How did your representative vote on the "Let Women Die" bill? We have the answer.

If your representative voted against this extreme attack, make sure to thank him or her for standing up for women's lives.

If your representative voted for the "Let Women Die" bill, he or she also needs to hear from you. Ask your member of Congress why waging a War on Women is more important than focusing on real priorities creating jobs.

The U.S. House of Representatives just voted 251 to 172 to pass H.R.358, the "Let Women Die" bill.

H.R.358 would allow hospitals to refuse to provide emergency abortion care even when it's necessary to save a woman's life!

And, it effectively would ban abortion coverage in state health-insurance exchanges, denying this coverage to millions of women.

The House has now voted seven times this year to take away a woman's ability to make private medical decisions with her doctor.

Seven times!

Don't they know that there's a jobs crisis going on?

While the American people are wondering what their elected representatives are doing to create jobs, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and the anti-choice House leadership are devoting their time to waging a War on Women.

How does this create jobs?

I'll give you a hint: it doesn't.

It does show that Speaker Boehner and his anti-choice cohorts are mind-bogglingly out of touch with the American people's values and priorities.

Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said today's vote was yet another reminder of how playing politics with women's health and privacy is more of a priority for Speaker Boehner than the nation's real, pressing challenges:

Americans are facing real challenges, yet House Speaker John Boehner is ignoring the public's call for Congress to focus on jobs. Instead, he is coming up with new ways to give politicians more control over our personal, private decisions. The House's attacks on women's freedom and privacy are out of touch with our nation's values and priorities.

The good news is that 172 of our allies stood strong, and the Obama administration issued a strongly worded statement opposing H.R.358.

The bad news is that Speaker Boehner and the anti-choice House leadership have given no indication that they're going to stop their attacks on women's freedom and privacy. In fact, waging a War on Women seems to be a much higher priority for them than, say, creating jobs.

But here's the best news: there's an election coming up in 2012. And politicians who ignore the American people's priorities are going to have a pretty tough time explaining that to their constituents.

Friday quiz time!

The employment figures for September came out today, and the numbers show that we've got some work to do. President Obama is traveling around the country urging Congress to take action to create jobs and grow our economy.

What is the anti-choice leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives doing?

If you guessed scheduling a vote on yet another bill that attacks women's freedom and privacy, then you'd be correct!

We've learned that the anti-choice House leadership plans to hold a vote next week on H.R.358, introduced by anti-choice Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.).

You might remember this bill from earlier this year, when it was first introduced with language that would redefine rape and incest.

Public backlash forced sponsors to drop that provision from the bill, but, even without it, H.R.358 would still put women's health in serious jeopardy.

H.R.358 would allow hospitals to refuse to provide abortion care even when it's necessary to save a woman's life!

And, it effectively would ban abortion-coverage in state health-insurance exchanges, denying this coverage to millions of women.

Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, called the House leadership dangerously out of touch with our nation's priorities:

As President Obama is urging Congress to focus on creating jobs, anti-choice House leaders are promising to move an extreme anti-choice agenda. It is unfathomable that the House will vote on a bill that, among other egregious provisions, would allow a hospital to refuse a woman life-saving, emergency abortion care even if she will die without it. House Speaker John Boehner and other anti-choice politicians do not have a mandate to attack women's freedom and privacy. Lawmakers who vote for this bill will be forced to answer why attacking a woman's right to choose, even in emergency situations where her life is at risk, has apparently become the new jobs agenda.

Why, indeed?

If you're outraged that the House leadership keeps attacking women's health again and again, let your representative know. Tell your member of Congress to STOP the War on Women on the House floor.

Instead of fulfilling their campaign promise to focus on jobs and the economy, the anti-choice House leadership instead is moving on an extreme anti-choice agenda. It is unfathomable that a congressional committee would move a bill that, among other egregious provisions, would allow a hospital to refuse a woman abortion care even if her life depended on it. More and more, the American people are waking up to the reality that some politicians in the House are willing to let women die, as long as it advances their ideological agenda.

Anti-choice politicians have gone from redefining rape to denying abortion care to women who will die without it. When it comes to attacking women's freedom and privacy, these politicians know no bounds. This debate is just getting started. Any member of Congress who has signed his or her name to this agenda must be held accountable for such extreme attacks against women's reproductive-health services.