House Republicans Focus on Extreme Anti-Woman Agenda

Senate Republicans voted down the president’s jobs plan on Tuesday. Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) said House Republicans won’t even allow a vote on it. So what’s the House working on instead? An extreme, savage bill that would actually let women die.

Here’s the rundown.

WHAT: The so-called Protect Life Act being taken up by the House of Representatives.

WHEN: Today, with a final vote expected sometime this evening.

WHY THIS BILL IS SO HORRIBLE: It would actually let women die. Jodi Jacobson of Reproductive Health Reality Check has the shocking details:

• Allow hospitals receiving federal funds to deny emergency abortions to women whose lives are in danger due to a pregnancy gone horribly wrong.

• Forbid state health care exchanges from providing abortion coverage even under policies paid for entirely with your own money. Exchanges are the public marketplaces for health insurance policies that will be rolled out by 2014 under the Affordable Care Act. Eventually, most people are expected to get their insurance through the exchanges. Exchanges were concieved as a means of expanding health care services, but under this and other legal restrictions they would in fact eliminate coverage most women already have.  If H.R. 358 is successful, getting insurance that includes coverage for abortion will be nearly impossible – putting abortion out of reach of even more women.

• Place a gag order on insurers, preventing them from even giving women information about how to get abortion coverage.

The Center for American Progress’ Jessica Arons summed it up this way:

The deceptively titled “Protect Life Act” would do exactly the opposite by threatening women’s lives and undermining health reform.

NOTABLE QUOTABLE:

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA) addressed the bill at her press conference this morning.

Watch it:

Under this bill—when the Republicans vote for this bill today, they will be voting to say that women can die on the floor and health care providers do not have to intervene if this bill is passed.  It’s just appalling. It falls right into their—it’s a health issue.  This is a health issue… And, again, today is another example of a wasted opportunity instead of taking up even an aspect of the President’s jobs bill that could create jobs.  I can’t even describe to you the logic of what it is that they are doing.  I just know that you’ll see a large number of women on the floor today fighting for women’s health issues as well as to point out how savage this is about withholding care for a woman because of this legislation.

IN ONE SENTENCE: Instead of focusing on jobs, House Republicans are more interested in passing savage legislation that would deny women health care and actually let them die.