"In stark terms, he laid out some of the highest stakes Keenan had faced during her six years at the helm of the leading pro-choice political organization. Obama's health reform law, which would extend healthcare coverage to millions of uninsured Americans, was nearing passage after months of political struggle. Obama had been fighting not just Republicans but also a contingent of anti-choice Democrats led by Michigan Representative Bart Stupak who were withholding their support over abortion."
"A major sticking point was whether insurance plans created by the health reform law-which would be subsidized by the federal government-would cover abortions. Decades earlier, just three years after Roe v. Wade granted the right to abortion nationwide, abortion opponents had launched a successful attack on Medicaid funding, arguing that while abortion was legal, taxpayer funds should not cover it."
"I certainly would like to prevent, if I could legally, anybody having an abortion, a rich woman, a middle-class woman, or a poor woman. Unfortunately, the only vehicle available is the...Medicaid bill."
In early 2010, President Obama called Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, to address critical stakes surrounding his healthcare reform law. The legislation faced opposition from anti-choice Democrats, particularly Michigan Representative Bart Stupak, who opposed federal subsidies covering abortion in insurance plans. This debate traced back to the Hyde Amendment of 1976, which prohibited federal Medicaid funding for abortion. Representative Henry Hyde explicitly stated his goal to prevent all abortions regardless of economic status, though he framed the amendment as a taxpayer funding issue. The healthcare reform law's passage hinged on resolving whether federally-subsidized insurance plans would cover abortion services.
Read at The Nation
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