Complacency Got Us Into This Stupak Mess

History was made over the weekend as the US House of Representatives voted 220 to 215 in favor of healthcare reform.  Thirty-nine Democrats voted for the opposition, and one brave freshman Republican, Joseph Cao, stepped up for his still-ravaged Katrina district in Louisiana. History was repeated, however, as the Stupak Amendment (Bart Stupak, D-MI) passed with a bipartisan majority of 240 to 194.  I say history was repeated as this amendment is a continuation of the chipping away offensive against Roe v. Wade that began with the Hyde Amendment in 1976, the first significant legislative success by anti-choice proponents.

Contrary to popular conception (no pun intended), the Hyde amendment doesn’t ban all federal funding for abortions, just the appropriations from the Dept. of Health and Human Services that go to that purpose.  The Stupak Amendment goes one step further in that it bars the new government subsidized health option to pay for abortions unless the procedure is a result of the conservatively consecrated trifecta of rape, incest, and the health of the mother.  Additionally, Stupak prohibits women, who choose to receive federal health subsidies, from buying insurance plans that include abortion coverage.  I had a feeling this was coming as the bipartisan buzz on the Hill was more like the audible auctioning of the farm.  Conservative Democrats were prostituting their reform vote in exchange for the amendment, and the leadership was buying the heavy hand job.

I was in the middle of writing a piece in regard to Maine’s referendum on gay marriage, but I thought it was important to stop and address the Stupak amendment when I saw Nancy Lee Grahn begin to tweet last night about the repercussions.  After all, I can always go back to Maine; stupidity has no expiration date.  Now, Nancy Lee Grahn is one of those LA types I enjoy following on Twitter because one, I like the entertaining anticipation of what calamity will occur when she tempts fate in a culinary fashion, and two, because NLG raises the level of social debate in a politically charged, yet respectful manner.  Now, that’s not fawning…that’s fact.  Frequent readers of this blog know that I am loathe to fawn, but quick to point out independent women with a purpose and a voice.

I believe the definitive statement from last night’s deliberation is there must be healthcare reform and Stupak has to be removed.  (I am referring to the amendment here; the political representative is up to the good people of Michigan.)  This is a commendable statement, but unfortunately, the political crest is out of the tube.  Even in a compromise bill (assuming reform passes in a more conservative Senate), the erosion of our reproductive freedom has been allowed to wear away with little opposition.  And I have to ask, didn’t we see this coming?  The Stupak amendment was actually introduced back in July. On August 19th, President Obama held a conference call organized by religious leaders and faith-based groups who support the administration’s healthcare reform initiatives.  Though the press was not invited, the audio was posted on several websites of those present and since transcribed.  In his conversation, the President said in reference to some fabrications circling about the plan, “You’ve heard that this is all going to mean government funding of abortion. Not true.” And in his nationally televised speech to Congress?

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The point is, my chromosomal cousins, we have to be proactive in our Constitutional rights.  We have to do more than rock the vote and then effortlessly waltz the process allowing one misguided male (and female) after another to cut in and lead.  We quietly let them dilute our rights with the watered down logic of not supplying tax payer dollars to support the consequences of amoral behavior all the while allowing these same individuals to federally subsidize the promiscuous practices of those whores on Wall Street.

Erosion is a beautiful thing when looking at that natural wonder in Arizona, but when it comes to our Constitutional rights, the erosive process is precursor to a big, gaping hole.  We have to stop the wearing away at the source.  Merely riding around with bumper stickers of “Yes, We Did”, and Hockey Moms for Hope provide us with pride in our accomplishment, but also a complacency in our objective. The work is just beginning, ladies.  Write, call, donate, and pay attention.  There are more pertinent headlines out there than the lead in on Entertainment Tonight.  Legally it’s still all about choice, but choice limited to the lesser of two malignancies is dangerous.