Two Years Ago, The Trans-Community Was Thrown Under The Bus

This year it is abortion rights, we cannot have legislation at the expense of others rights. Two years ago a gender inclusive ENDA was thrown out and a non-inclusive ENDA substituted in order to pass ENDA – it was a bad comprise. This year abortion rights were thrown out of the healthcare bill in order to pass the bill – it is a bad comprise. Sometime it is not right to pass a bad bill just to pass the bill.

In published reports, there is major consternation with the language of the Stupak Amendment in the House version of the healthcare bill concerning abortion rights. An ABC News article writes,

An amendment included in the House health care bill passed this weekend promising to restrict federal funding for abortions has reignited a fiery debate on one of the most controversial issues in the country.

An article in the Huffington Post reports that,

As the House of Representatives inches toward a final vote on comprehensive health care reform this weekend -- the most dramatic domestic policy debate in several generations, a reorganization of a sixth of the economy -- the only thing the parties can talk about is abortion and immigration.
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Stupak, in meetings with Pelosi and other members of leadership, pressed to include, instead, his own amendment that would ban the public health insurance option from funding abortion and also ban any private plan operating within the exchange from funding abortions. Under Stupak's plan, a woman buying private insurance from within the exchange with her own money would not have a choice of a plan that covered abortion.
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The thinking among leadership is that allowing a vote -- regardless of the outcome -- helps win votes for final passage. If it passes, then pro-lifers line up behind health care reform. If it fails, at least they had their vote. For pro-choicers, if the amendment passes they can still fight to remove it during negotiations with the Senate -- which rejected tough abortion restrictions.

This is government at its worst! You do not pass a bad bill in hopes of it being overturned. This is exactly what the House did for ENDA, it was wrong then and it is wrong now. I hope they are right and that the Senate will reject it, but suppose the Senate does pass it, we will be left with a horrible law. Insurance companies would not have to pay for any abortions except in a medical emergency when a mother’s life depended upon it. We all know insurance companies, do you honestly think they wouldn’t try to weasels out of paying.