Abortion Coverage Ban in State Insurance Exchange Would Mean Fewer Options for Wisconsin Women, Private Companies

The Wisconsin Senate Committee on Public Health, Human Resources and Revenue held a hearing today on Senate Bill 92, a bill that would ban private insurance companies that provide abortion coverage from participating in future heath care exchanges promised by the Affordable Care Act (recent federal health care reform). The ACLU of Wisconsin was there to testify against the bill because we feel it interferes in women's private medical decisions by taking away insurance coverage for consumers who need comprehensive reproductive care. 

Currently, most insurance plans provide coverage of abortion along with other pregnancy related services, such as prenatal care, labor and delivery, and miscarriage care. This makes sense. Many things can happen in a pregnancy; insurance coverage for abortion allows every woman to get the health care she needs. 

But SB 92 would prohibit insurance companies in the exchange from providing comprehensive coverage. It would ban an insurance company from selling, and prevent an individual from buying, policies that cover abortion. 

Preventing insurance companies in the exchange from covering a legal medical procedure, just because some people are opposed to it, means a woman may be forced to continue a pregnancy because she cannot afford the high out-of-pocket costs to pay for an abortion. Or she may be forced to postpone abortion care while attempting to raise the necessary funds – a delay that can exacerbate both the costs and the health risks of the procedure. In other words, this bill just makes a difficult situation worse. At the very least, we should make sure that when a woman’s health and future is at stake, her insurance plan is able to cover what is often an expensive hospital procedure.

The bottom line for liberty and freedom is that medical decisions should be made by a woman, her family, and her doctor: not politicians. It is wrong for the government to take away insurance coverage for a legal medical procedure. This bill won’t do anything to reduce the demand for abortion. It will only increase the demand for private companies that do provide coverage. 

Particularly in these difficult times, while family planning programs face reduced funding for prevention of unplanned pregnancies, the legislature should focus on supporting women and families and not playing politics with women’s health. Politicians should get back to the issues that really matter to Wisconsinites and get out of the way of insurance companies that want to continue covering comprehensive health care for women.

If you oppose SB 92 as an ideologically driven, anti-abortion bill, please contact your state legislators and express your concerns. Find out more about how to contact your legislators on our Take Action page.

News roundup: Grothman not a fan of sex ed, medical marijuana in Berlin (WI), spying on abortion activists and more...

Here is some news you might have missed..

We got coverage on Milwaukee's TMJ4 on the ACLU's opposition to an effort by lawmakers to bar public disclosure of 911 calls. "The public deserves to get all the information with very limited exceptions," said Christopher Ahmuty of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin. "Those exceptions should be done on the basis of a balancing test that's in the current law now."

Senator Glenn Grothman was a bit hit in the blogosphere when he said in a Cap Times interview that he didn't approve of the comprehensive sex ed bill that's headed to the Governor's desk on Wednesday. It might have been his comments about how teasing feminine boys was normal at his high school that even got the attention of Perez Hilton. Note to all Wisconsin state legislators: bullying or discriminating against gay youth is NOT okay. (But it is okay to give the ACLU a shout out in Glee!)

Did you see the coverage of the medical marijuana advocacy event in Berlin, WI? Central Wisconsin folks asked if their medicine was legal yet. Another lobby day is scheduled at the Capitol on Wednesday. Contact IMMLY for details.

Madison city council alders are considering a parental responsibility law. The proposal is being pushed by the same folks who tried to keep kids inside earlier at last year's curfew ordinance that the ACLU of Wisconsin helped to defeat. If you are a single mom who works three jobs to scrape by and your youngster gets a ticket for disorderly conduct at the bus transfer point, will you have time to go to court to deal with the fine in your name?

Speaking of Madisonians with limited income, we've been observing the housing issue around Shorewood Hills and the proposal to replace the nearly vacant Pyare Square building. Some residents of the affluent neighborhood complained about a large apartment complex that housed limited-income families, but developers tried to quell their fears by making the complex for seniors. Finally the whole project was scrapped due to the height of the building design. Whenever there are concerns about building affordable housing, our ears prick up mostly because of fights like what happened in South Milwaukee with the Lake Point Apartments.

Remember the dust up over anti-Hmong comments by a UW law professor? The dust hasn't completely settled. Madison Hmong community leader is still asking questions about the Hmong studies program that was promised to be added to the university offerings.

The news broke that Homeland Security was working with Middleton police last year to spy on anti-abortion activists who were planning a big rally that would no doubt overwhelm the police resources. The news said that DHS investigated both prochoice and anti-abortion activists, but we haven't heard from prochoicers about alleged probes. We're a prochoice organization, but DHS can't spy on activists. Period. Only when there is probable cause (i.e. evidence that's more than a hunch that a crime will be committed) can an investigation legally be started. The feds admitted wrongly investigating the activists, but Middleton police aren't turning over records and feds say they deleted copies of the assessment. Sorry Michele Malkin, we do care when government spies on First Amendment protected activity.

The ACLU's Bill of Rights Celebration is tomorrow! Twitter fan? @ACLUofWisconsin and @ACLUMadison will be live tweeting at the #BORC event! Follow us to hear more from blogger journalist @anamariecox!

Stand Up For Women's Rights in Health Care Reform

Negotiations on the final health care bill pick up speed this week. As you may know, anti-choice forces in Congress have used this legislation as a vehicle for advancing their agenda.

We must make sure that the final bill will protect reproductive freedom, not put it in peril.

Tell Sen. Russ Feingold, Sen. Herb Kohl and your state legislator in the House to protect women’s access to abortion in health care reform.

Health care reform should improve people’s lives. That’s why we have to make the most of our last opportunity to insist that health care reform should improve women's health and lives -- not interfere in their ability to get the health care they need.

Representative Bart Stupak and other architects of the severe restrictions on women’s health in both the House and Senate bills are campaigning hard, threatening to derail health care legislation altogether if anyone tampers with the severe restrictions they forced into both bills. Even our allies in Congress are feeling pressure. That’s why it’s so urgent that you take action today.

Both bills stigmatize abortion coverage and ignore the reality that abortion services are basic health care for women.

Tell your members of Congress that Stupak-style restrictions must not be part of any final legislation that goes to President Obama’s desk.

Anti-choice forces are working round-the-clock to keep severe abortion restrictions in the health care bill. We have to work just as hard to get those restrictions out.

Negotiations on a final bill are happening now. Please act immediately to insist on health reforms that will protect reproductive freedom, not put it in peril.

Thank you for standing with us.
Sincerely,
Vania Leveille
ACLU Legislative Counsel

Stop the Abortion Coverage Ban - Rally for Women’s Health

Join us today at noon:

Stop the Abortion Coverage Ban
Rally for Women’s Health

Wednesday, December 2 at Noon
Capitol Square – State Street Steps
Featuring Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton

Email Sen. Russell 'Russ' D. Feingold and Sen. Herb Kohl right now to protect all women's health options in health care reform.

Report from D.C. at the prochoice rally from a public policy staffer from the Maine ACLU:

"I’m here in Washington, D.C., after a long bus ride from Maine that took me nearly nine hours -- and more than 500 miles. But nothing could have stopped me from getting here because the fight to protect reproductive rights is too important, and it’s personal.

"My own commitment to reproductive freedom is rooted in my grandmother’s story about her difficult decision to have an abortion when it wasn’t even legal. I’m sure that the hundreds of other women and men who have joined me in Washington today to take part in this lobby day have their own reasons for caring so deeply.

"But we’re all here to send a powerful message to our senators: we want health care reform that will protect reproductive freedom -- not put it in peril as the House did with their Stupak-Pitts Amendment, banning abortion coverage.

"We’re going to be heading to Senators’ offices to deliver this message in just a few moments, but it would be great if they could hear from all of you, too!

"Email Sen. Russell 'Russ' D. Feingold and Sen. Herb Kohl now. Let them know you want health care that will improve women’s lives -- not interfere with them.

"Just off the bus, my fellow bus-mates and I are ready to fight for women's reproductive freedom. Tell your senators that you want health care that will improve women’s lives not interfere with them.

"Many people have come to D.C. today because they’re alarmed by a recent rise of extremism that is influencing decisions on Capitol Hill.

"When the Stupak-Pitts Amendment was added to the House bill, it drastically altered and interfered with a woman’s ability to get the health care she needs. But what’s possibly even more alarming is that a reinvigorated extremist movement is determined to advance their own personal ideology and use the power of our government to force their own narrow view of morality on the rest of us.

"So now we all need to join together and let our senators know that this kind of thinking has no place in our government -- and it doesn’t belong in our health care reform.

"We need to come together -- whether it’s riding a bus to D.C. or clicking a button to email your senators and make sure they know we won’t let the same thing happen in the Senate.

"Whatever your reason for getting involved in this critical fight today, I hope you’ll join with me and let your senator know how strongly you feel about this. Together, we can make a real difference in the lives of millions of women.

"Thanks for standing with us."
Alysia Melnick
Public Policy Counsel
Maine Civil Liberties Union

Take Action: Demand Abortion Rights Protection in Federal Health Care Reform

Stop the Abortion Coverage Ban
Rally for Women’s Health

Wednesday, December 2 at Noon
Capitol Square – State Street Steps
Featuring Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton
The House of Representatives passed a health care reform bill that includes an amendment by Reps. Stupak and Pitts that will effectively eliminate all insurance coverage for abortion. Currently, 85% of insurance plans in the private market currently cover these services. This ban on abortion coverage in health care reform is a direct attack on women’s health.

Now the Senate is set to begin debate on health care reform. We must ensure that the Senate bill does not include a similar amendment banning abortion coverage.

Please join us for a Rally on Wednesday, 12/2, to tell our legislators that we will not stand for attacks on women’s health in health care reform and to Stop the Abortion Coverage Ban!

The rally coincides with a National Day of Action & Stop Stupak-Pitts event in Washington D.C. and the ACLU will be among the protesters.

Here is what we need from you:

1. Join us in Madison on Wednesday, December 2 at Noon, for a Rally for Women’s Health at the State Capitol (State Street Steps). More information is attached and also pasted below. Note: in the event of rain, the rally will be moved inside to the Assembly Parlor on the 2nd floor west of the State Capitol.

2. Call Senator Kohl at (800) 247-5645 and Senator Feingold at (608) 828-1215 to let them know we are counting on them to vote against any amendment that bans abortion coverage in the health care reform bill.

3. Attend the National Stop Stupak-Pitts Rally and Lobby Day in Washington DC on 12/2. For more information about bus transportation departing 12/1 and returning 12/3, contact molly.swank@ppwi.org or amanda.harrington@ppwi.org as soon as possible.

4. Email Senators Kohl and Feingold by going to the ACLU take action page on this issue and completing a simple form.

5. Volunteer to help collect petition signatures at the rally on 12/2. Contact Lisa at NARAL Prochoice Wisconsin or call (608) 287-0016 if you are available to volunteer.

Rally Sponsors: NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Madison NOW, Wisconsin Law Students for Reproductive Justice, Women’s Medical Fund, Single Payer Action Network, Beloit College GOGA Women’s Health Club, Wisconsin Alliance for Women’s Health, ACLU Wisconsin, Wisconsin Women’s Network.

Updates on domestic spying and data mining, abortion service proposal at UW Health under attack

Domestic Spying
So it’s pretty official that the Bush administration spied on all of us with the willing help of telecommunications corporations. This whistleblower and former NSA analyst talks about how, under the auspices of keeping non-threatening people safe and separate from terrorists, journalists were spied on full-time. In the meantime, President Obama has nominated former law professor and noted Bush spying critic David Kris for the Assistant Attorney General position at the National Security Agency.

Wired says the data mining extended to other personal information including credit cards. Under the guise of protection, how are citizens guaranteed that these anti-terrorism dragnets aren’t leaving everyone exposed to hackers and identity thieves?

Reproductive Rights
Internationally, Obama overturned the global gag rule which would end the ban on international aid programs that go to family planning programs that include abortion in their education or service programs.

Women might not get such benefits in Wisconsin if anti-choice legislators and doctors get their way. Protests this weekend in front of local UW Health facilities brought a proposal to offer second trimester abortion services back into the headlines. UW Health is clear on its rules that abortion services would be paid for by insurance (or out of the pockets of service patients) and that doctors and nurses have the right to opt out if they hold their own personal objections. Ultimately it isn't the right of anti-abortion doctors or legislators to decide for women who need an abortion which is only one of a spectrum of reproductive services that are vital to women's equality, health care and self-determination.

Non-Profits
Did you hear that nonprofit organizations are hoping to get some of the federal stimulus funds? It’s a good idea to put some fuel into organizations that build houses and help with disaster relief. The ACLU, however, never accepts government funding. Our only stimulus comes from the generous support of our donors and members. Don’t forget to renew your membership! Our members are the lifeblood of our organization and we thank all of our many supporters who are keeping Team ACLU going strong. Join today on the ACLU of Wisconsin website.

ACLU continues to defend reproductive freedom one step at a time

Check out Louise Melling's original post on the Daily Kos.

On the anniversary of Roe v. Wade:

In the wake of President Obama’s inauguration and on the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, it is tempting to use this occasion to recite a litany of policies we want our new legislators to enact: from ensuring contraceptive equity in Wisconsin, to reversing the Bush administration’s midnight rule allowing a broad range of health care providers to refuse basic reproductive health services, to rescinding the global gag rule that withholds international aid from family planning services.

While these policy changes are important, they all will remain vulnerable to the ebb and flow of politics if we do not also do our part to change the public conversation about abortion. Reproductive freedom is essential to ensuring equality: we each must be free to make profoundly personal decisions about our reproductive lives without unwarranted government intrusion. As with all freedoms, there are limits. But a government that respects the personal integrity of its people both interferes in these essentially private decisions as little as possible and helps ensure that everyone has the opportunity to make these decisions responsibly.

We can continue with the politics of abortion we have known for a generation, one that has exploited ambivalence and fear for political gain. Or we can learn from this past year and take this moment of opportunity and hope to start a new conversation, one that begins with the understanding that both the decision to have a child and the decision to have an abortion come from a place of profound respect for the value of life and a strong commitment to ensuring a better life for all.

Another step toward equality in Wisconsin is to encourage our legislators to ensure contraceptive equity. Judges have ruled on the need for insurance companies to cover prescription contraceptives and outpatient services so as not to discriminate on the basis of gender. Writing contraceptive equity into law is fundamental to any efforts to reform health care, protect workers and stand up for gender equality.

- Chris Ahmuty, Executive Director, ACLU of Wisconsin
- Louise Melling, Director, national ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project

Top ten to-do list for President Obama

Tuesday marks an officially new federal administration and the ACLU has a few ideas on how we can restore civil rights and liberties. We even have a top ten list.

A local radio station WORT's news reporter, Craig McComb, visited the ACLU of Wisconsin's statewide activist conference last year where he first heard about the ACLU's transition plan for the new administration. Craig then gathered responses from local and state activists to address the critical need for immediate action to restore the rule of law.

Each segment is around five minutes long. Listen in and then send your own letter to President Obama to ask him to close Guantanamo, end the abuses of federal power, and take our country back to basic, Constitutional rights.