Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards is on the warpath again, making up claims that Republicans in the House of Representatives are engaging in some sort of “War on Women” by passing a measure that would ensure taxpayers aren’t forced to pay for abortions under Obamacare.
Under the false headline, “The House’s war on women,” Richards claims:
The full picture of what the House of Representatives did late Saturday night is just coming into view, and it’s startling. The House voted to keep the government functioning as long as the Affordable Care Act is delayed for a year — and they also voted to let any employer or insurance company deny a broad range of preventive health care to women based on a personal “moral” objection.
Think about what that means. If a retail chain is bought by someone who doesn’t believe women should have access to immunizations or screening for the human papillomavirus, then potentially lifesaving treatment that is proven to help prevent cervical cancer would not be part of the insurance coverage for any women at that company. If a woman works at a bank owned by a man who opposes contraception, her birth-control prescription would no longer be covered by her health-insurance plan. Same thing for breastfeeding support, domestic violence counseling, HIV testing and other preventive care.
And to be completely clear: The bill that the House Republican leadership pushed through in the middle of the night Saturday would only subject women’s preventive health protections to this kind of interference. Other types of health care — not to mention prostate-exam screenings and other important men’s health protections — would not be weakened.
Incredibly, a narrow group of Republican leaders in the House is pushing to shut down the entire federal government over women’s access to birth control, cancer screenings and other basic health care.
Never mind that the bill House Republicans passed does not such thing and has nothing to do with legitimate health care for women. Here’s what the legislation does:
The measure also includes the Blackburn amendment, which delays taxpayer subsidies for insurance plans that include elective abortion by delaying implementation of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) until January 2015. Section 131(a) delays implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for one year. This would mean that the taxpayer subsidies for Obamacare insurance plans that include elective abortion would be delayed for one year, and the abortion surcharge and secrecy clause would also be delayed for one year.
The Blackburn amendment also delays the HHS preventive services mandate for one year for religious and moral objectors. The HHS abortion mandate compels religious groups to pay for birth control and drugs that may cause abortions and has been the subject of dozens of lawsuits, including from the Hobby Lobby craft company. The last sentence of section 131(a) specifically delays the HHS preventive services mandate for one year with regard to employers and individuals who have a moral or religious objection to such coverage.
Concerned Women for America put Richards’ op-ed in perspective with this insightful tweet on Twitter:
Cecile Richards is at it again. By “access” she means “paid for by others” as usual. https://t.co/78W7FA5BCc
— CWA LAC (@CWforA) September 30, 2013
Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) commented on the bill’s passage.
CLICK LIKE IF YOU’RE PRO-LIFE!
“House Republicans have acted in a responsible manner to provide the American people with what they want – a continuing resolution that prevents a government shutdown, controls spending, and protects families and businesses from the harmful effects of Obamacare,” Blackburn said. “By delaying Obamacare for one year, the House has shown we are listening to the American people who never wanted this law in the first place. Overwhelmingly, our constituents have told us that they want us to delay the onset of Obamacare. It’s too expensive to afford, families can’t keep the insurance plan they like, and it’s killing jobs. It’s become painfully clear that Obmacare is not ready for primetime and in fairness to hardworking Americans the entire law must be delayed. Now it’s time for the Senate to act.”
She added: “In addition to delaying Obamacare for one year, my amendment protects people from the radical HHS mandate which violates millions of Americans’ deeply-held religious beliefs and it prevents taxpayer subsidies from going to insurance plans that include elective abortion coverage.”
