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Abortion Coverage: Missing What Many Never Knew They Had
One of the most convincing arguments for passing the public health plan without abortion coverage is that very few women use insurance to cover abortions to begin with. But if you've heard the statistic that only 13 percent of abortions are billed to insurers, that's not exactly the whole truth.
The Guttmacher Institute, the pro-choice organization responsible for the study the stats were pulled from, contests the 13 percent statistic has been taken out of context and widely used through the media — like, say, in the Wall Street Journal article we linked to yesterday.
If Women Have to Pay For Abortion, What Does It Cost?
The initial reaction to the Stupak amendment — which forbids coverage for abortion from a public insurance plan and prevents private insurers from covering abortions for anyone getting a tax credit — was not anger for many women, but "What? Health insurance covers abortions?!"
Looking into the issue, the Wall Street Journal found that eliminating abortion coverage would have almost no effect because so few women use insurance for the procedure.
Women Worry That Obama Is Throwing Them Under the Bus
Back in January, feminist magazine Ms. hailed Barack Obama as a super feminist. But the president's recent tepid response to protecting abortion rights might mean that the love affair with Obama is about to end for many women.
Front Page: Obama Wants Healthcare Bill, Not Abortion Bill
- President Obama is asking Congress to drop the clause in the House healthcare bill that puts new restrictions on abortion coverage. — ABC News
- Virginia will execute John Allen Muhammad (aka "The DC Sniper") today. — CNN
- RNC leader Michael Steele says some white Republicans are scared of him.
Healthcare Bill Restricts Coverage For Abortions
If you thought Democrats were pro-choice, you might want to think again. The recently passed healthcare bill coming out of the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives could significantly decrease access to abortion even for Americans on private insurance plans.
After a 290-194 vote, the House passed an amendment Saturday that bans the use of federal funds to cover abortion for anyone using the public healthcare plan.
70,000 Women a Year Die From Unsafe Abortions
After three years of research, the New York-based Guttmacher Institute has concluded that although contraceptive use has lowered the number of abortions worldwide, unsafe abortions still account for a staggering 70,000 deaths a year, particularly in the developing world. More than half the deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa, a region with the lowest rates of contraceptive use and the highest rates of unintended pregnancies.
"In much of the developing world," said the Institute's president Sharon Camp, "abortion remains highly restricted, and unsafe abortion is common and continues to damage women's health and threaten their survival."
Oklahoma Prepares to Put Abortion Details Online
Starting Nov. 1, any woman who has an abortion in Oklahoma will have to fill out an extensive questionnaire that will subsequently be posted online. Supporters of the law say that the information will help healthcare officials reduce the number of abortions.
Dominican Republic Bans Abortion, No Exceptions
As support for legal access to abortion in the US drops (with only 47 percent of Americans thinking it should be legal), the Dominican Republican has decided to go one better: they want to constitutionally ban the procedure altogether.
With support for the Catholic Church and the country's Catholic population, lawmakers recently ratified an amendment that makes it illegal for women to terminate pregnancy in all cases. Abortion is now constitutionally forbidden even if the mother or fetus's life is at risk.
Tweeting Your Miscarriage or Abortion: Good For Women?
When Penelope Trunk, a blogger who shares almost every detail of her life over the Internet, had a miscarriage, she decided to tweet about it. She wrote:
I'm in a board meeting. Having a miscarriage.
E-Health Records Raise Privacy Concerns About Sexual Health
In February, the US government mandated that doctors and healthcare providers create an Electronic Health Record (EHR) for every American by 2014. This new system, which healthcare providers and government officials can access when authorized, promises to make health care more efficient and less expensive. But there's a growing concern that the adoption of a central, online system could compromise patient privacy.
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