The Republican Coat Hanger Plan

Republicans claim to bet the party of small, unobtrusive government, favoring individual rights and freedoms over Big Government control.  That claim is a lie, because they continuously try to insert themselves in our bedrooms and between us and our doctors.  Yesterday all the House Republicans and sixteen Democrats (I took names) passed HR 3, the greatest threat to women’s health care since Roe v Wade.  If it becomes law, which is doubtful, women will experience a return to the days of back allies and coat hangers.  Thus the coat hanger is the symbol of RepubliCare for Women.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a sweeping antiabortion package to further distance federal funds from the procedure by solidifying existing measures and imposing new ones.

The measures stand little chance of approval by the Senate, but again demonstrated the key role social issues still play in unifying the Republican Party.

Dubbed the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, the bill was approved along party lines and endorsed by longtime abortion foes and the House Republican leadership, despite arguments that GOP lawmakers should keep a narrow focus on budget and spending issues.

Republicans demanded the antiabortion measures as part of contentious budget discussions earlier this year, nearly tanking bipartisan talks and risking a government shutdown. The provisions were removed in a deal with the White House to enable passage of the budget measure on the condition that a separate vote be held later to allow members to express their views on the record.

The House bill would permanently place into law current policies prohibiting federal money from paying for abortions through Medicaid and some other federal programs. The policies, primarily outlined in the decades-old measure known as the Hyde Amendment, must be periodically renewed.

But the bill also goes further to eliminate what supporters say are indirect federal subsidies for abortion providers.

Under the measure, businesses that offer health insurance policies covering abortion could not recoup tax credits under the new healthcare law. In addition, individuals could not deduct the cost of an abortion when itemizing health expenses on their taxes, nor could they use a tax-exempt savings account to pay for an abortion.

The bill includes exceptions for pregnancies that threaten the life of the mother or result from rape or incest.

Similar measures were introduced and defeated during the debate over the healthcare law in 2009… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <LA Times>

What the article does not make completely clear, is that if someone’s health coverage, whether business or personal, covers abortions, even though that represents just a tiny part of the coverage, the entire policy becomes ineligible for subsidies under the ACA, and non-deductible for tax purposes.  Effectively this will virtually eliminate abortion coverage from the insurance industry.

This has flown almost completely under the radar, because the media is still salivating exclusively over the death of Osama bin Laden.  Only Rachel Maddow even mentioned it.

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Now, here is the hall of shame.  The following DINO’s betrayed their constituents and goose stepped with the Republicans to eliminate women’s rights.

Altmire, Boren, Costello, Critz, Cuellar, Donnely, Holden, Kaptur, Kildee, Lipinski, Matheson, McIntyre, Peterson, Rahall, Ross, and Shuler.

All deserve your scorn.  If any of these is your representative, please call them, tell them they have sold out, tell them they have no value, and tell them you will remember their vote in 2012.  None deserve our support and all should be challenged in the primaries.