Sitting at a hotel bar in Puerto Vallarta, chatting with a lively group of sexuality studies conference goers, the last thing I expected to find drawing my attention was grainy-single camera coverage of a congressional meeting. But as we lounged in the humid, open air tavern, my eyes slowly shifted towards the television hovering over our bartenders head displaying CNN's coverage of the House floor. While I had always imagined that some sense of joy would come with seeing that the health care reform bill passed through the House of Representatives, my imagined excitement was drowned out by the attachment of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment to the bill.
Having returned to the US and found myself once again within reach of a computer and an internet connection, I scoured the internet trying to make sense of this unfortunate piece of legislation. After perusing all variety of impassioned rhetoric and fuzzy claims about the amendment, I was able to find enough quality reporting to come up with a clear outline of the Amendment, its origin and its potential consequences.
What is the Stupak-Pitts Amendment?The Stupak-Pitts Amendment bans purchasing any insurance policy that covers abortion with a federal subsidy. In the new exchange program being proposed, most of the potential buyers will be using federal subsidies. In order for insurance companies to compete in this market, their policies will need to be geared towards customers using federal subsidies, and thus will need to exclude abortion coverage.
Why did the Stupak-Pitts Amendement become part of Health Care Reform bill?While the Democrats control both the Senate and the House of Representatives, their ability to successfully pass health care reform is hindered by the presence of conservative Democrats. In order to appease these Congressmen, the Stupak-Pitts Amendment was allowed to be voted on as part of the Health Care Reform bill. Its existence is hoped to be the necessary evil that will allow for the Health Care Reform bill to be passed.
Is Stupak-Pitts assured a place in the Health Care Reform bill?No, it is not. The Senate can pass its own version of the Health Care Reform bill, and all indications so far are that this version of the bill will not include Stupak-Pitts. Assuming the Senate passes its own version of Health Care Reform, the Congressional Conference committee, comprised of the heads of the various Congressional Comittees, will meet to reconcile the difference in the two separate bills. It is at this point that Stupak-Pitts can be stripped from Health Care Reform before the final version of the bill is put up for vote.
What are the consequences of Stupak-Pitts?If Stupak-Pitts is removed from the Health Care Reform bill, it is questionable whether conservative Democrats will vote with the majority of the party to pass Health Care Reform. If the Stupak-Pitts Amendment is included, some liberal Democrats have threatened to vote against the Health Care Reform bill.
In either scenario, the negative consequences fall squarely on the heads of Americans who cannot afford health care. The government subsidized exchange program was designed to provide services for Americans who cannot afford health care at the moment. Unless the Health Care Reform bill passes without the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, Americans who cannot currently afford health care with either be left without access to proper reproductive health coverage or with the same glaring lack of overall health coverage that currently exists.
