Physicians Speak Against Stupak/Pitts Amendment During National Week of Action

Washington, DC—Thousands of advocates across the country are speaking out this week in opposition to the Stupak/Pitts amendment. This legislation would prohibit health insurance plans that accept federal subsidies from covering abortion, even if women pay most of the cost of premiums themselves. Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health (PRCH) co-sponsored events today in Washington, DC, and San Francisco, as part of a National Week of Action aimed at removing the amendment from the health reform bill.

At a noon event on Capitol Hill, PRCH board member Willie J. Parker, MD, MPH, spoke about how the Stupak/Pitts amendment could harm women by preventing them from getting legal medical care: “As an obstetrician-gynecologist, I see firsthand what happens when women and families cannot access the health care they need, including abortion services. Some of my patients have chronic health conditions that become worse because they can’t afford routine care. Others are women in complicated medical and social situations who decide that, for them, the right thing is to discontinue a pregnancy, but their insurers deny them the coverage they deserve.”

Dr. Parker recently treated a woman whose health was seriously threatened by an unintended pregnancy. She wanted an abortion but could not afford the cost, and was ultimately forced to continue the pregnancy. Dr. Parker told a crowd of legislators, patients, students, and advocates: “The Stupak amendment would spread that pain to millions more women. We cannot let this cruelty remain in health reform.”

Following the event on Capitol Hill, more than 500 advocates will visit members of Congress and urge them to pass health reform without the Stupak/Pitts amendment. Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health arranged for doctors and medical students to speak with their legislators about how this bill hurts women’s health. More details about the DC Lobby Day, including a full list of co-sponsors, are available here.

In San Francisco, PRCH members Jennifer Kerns, MD, and Norma Jo Waxman, MD, will speak at a noon rally at City Hall, along with elected officials and advocates from California. Dr. Kerns, an obstetrician-gynecologist, says: “I see women every day who are struggling to obtain health care in our fractured system—but I don’t hear their stories in the debate currently underway in Congress.”

Dr. Kerns recently cared for Maria, a mother of three who learned the baby she was expecting hadn’t developed a brain, and would not survive birth. Because she works for the U.S. government, Maria’s insurance refused to pay for her abortion, a situation many women could face under Stupak/Pitts. “Maria is not an anomaly,” says Dr. Kerns. “She is you and me. We must fight to preserve abortion coverage for Maria and the millions of women like her in the United States.”

Additional stories about how the Stupak/Pitts amendment endangers women’s health are available here.

Physicians are available for comment. Contact Amanda Davis at [email protected], 646 649-9927.