Opposition To The Stupak Amendment

Floor Speech

* Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, I have witnessed the horror of the choice between a back alley abortion and a forced marriage to avoid disgrace. These were the realities women faced prior to 1973. My fear is that if this harmful Stupak/Pitts language is signed into law, we will revert back to those dark times.

* Until now, for over 30 years we lived in this House in peaceful coexistence, the pros and the cons getting together on the fact that the Hyde amendment said no federal money can be spent. We on our side simply had the law.

* Critical to this debate is to break down the facts. The opposition claims that the Stupak/Pitts Amendment codifies current law. This is grossly incorrect.

* Stupak-Pitts goes far beyond current law by placing unprecedented restrictions on individuals' use of their own private dollars. The Hyde Amendment does not apply to private funding nor does it apply to administrative costs. It has only placed limits on direct federal appropriations being used to fund abortion benefits. The Stupak Amendment expands the Hyde prohibitions on the use of Federal funds for an abortion benefit to include ``any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion.''

* The Hyde Amendment does not include similar, far-reaching language. Seventeen States currently provide abortion coverage in Medicaid with separate State funding.

* The opposition claims that this amendment will not change current insurance plans for women. This is blatantly wrong.

* A report by health policy experts at the George Washington University School of Public Health concludes that the Stupak Amendment ``will have an industry-wide effect, eliminating coverage of medically indicated abortions over time for all women, not only those whose coverage is derived through a health insurance exchange.''

* The opposition claims that the segregation of funding under the House bill is an accounting sham. This is blatantly false.

* In the Capps Amendment, the segregation of funding piece is based on the current model the Federal Government uses to pay for abortions currently permitted in Medicaid. States are permitted to use their own funding to provide additional abortion coverage under Medicaid.

* For me, and for many of my colleagues, it means 30 or 40 years of our life is being cancelled out with this amendment.

* I am afraid that we are driving young women, poor women, all women of child-bearing age back to the back alley, and I dread to see that day.

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