Mike Quigley Speaks to the Floor on the Stupak Amendment and Equal Access to Reproductive Health Care
Tonight, Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois took to the floor of the House of Representatives to declare his opposition to a health care bill amendment by Rep. Bart Stupak. The Stupak Amendment would make it illegal for any health care plan accepting any national health care plan participants to provide abortion coverage for anyone at all in the plan. Women who receive a small subsidy to help pay for health care coverage, but who pay the majority of the cost themselves, would be forbidden from choosing a plan that covers abortion.
Mike Quigley phrased his opposition on the floor this way:
The health care bill we are considering today makes a strong statement that everyone in this country deserves access to health care. For over 8 months, this body has strived to overcome the health care inequalities in our country. But this amendment disrupts that sense of equality. This amendment says only women who can afford insurance deserve access to reproductive health care. This amendment says that women who need a little help paying for health care have to surrender their right to privacy. This amendment will serve only to hurt low-income women and restrict their ability to access reproductive health care even with their own money. It is wrong and we should oppose it.
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