Greenpeace canvassers are going to get some company on the sidewalk soon: Pro-life supporters will start gathering signatures for a new constitutional amendment that would outlaw spending public money on abortion services, except to save the life of the mother.
- Never forget: Pro-life silly bandz!
The Secretary of State signed off on the measure (pdf) last Thursday, so now supporters have until July to collect the 116, 284 signatures needed to get the measure on the ballot. If passed, the constitutional amendment would effectively ban state health insurance from covering abortions, meaning women covered by the Oregon Health Plan would have to pay for abortions out of pocket. One of the chief petitioners of the measure is Marilyn Shannon, who at a John McCain fundraiser in 1993, praised the woman who shot an abortion clinic doctor.
Incidents of domestic terrorism aside, Oregon has a solid pro-choice history: Since the legislature rejected a number of new anti-abortion laws last year, we’re one of only 14 states where access to abortion isn’t limited by any laws like that Puritanical parental-consent business, waiting periods, or requirements that women considering abortion stare at ultrasounds of their embryos.
But abortion in Oregon is still limited by one major factor: class. An abortion costs at least $450—it can be a major expense for women without health insurance. Jennifer Webster, a Eugene resident who started a local abortion-help hotline said it best when I interviewed her in 2010: “To me, it’s a justice issue. Women should be able to get abortions if they need them, whether or not they can pay for them and no matter where they live. All that restrictions do is hurt the most vulnerable women in our community. A woman who really, really needs an abortion is going to get one.”
I’d expect voters are more likely to approve this funding measure than the other anti-abortion measure aiming for Oregon’s ballot, a personhood measure like the one that Mississippi recently rejected. But while it’s not setting down any laws banning abortions, it’s important to remember that cutting coverage of abortion effectively cuts off class of women from being able to make their own reproductive choices.
Who are the funders? Inquiring minds wonder.
You’re spot on. Guttmacher Institute just came out with a new study looking at issue of class and abortions. (http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/Jones-AOG.p…)
“The abortion rate declined 8.0% between 2000
and 2008, from 21.3 abortions per 1,000 women aged
15–44 to 19.6 per 1,000. Decreases in abortion were
experienced by most subgroups of women.
One notable exception was poor women; this group accounted for 42.4% of abortions in 2008, and their abortion rate increased 17.5% between 2000 and 2008 from 44.4 to 52.2 abortions per 1,000. If the
2008 abortion rate prevails, 30.0% of women will have an abortion by age 45.”
So essentially, 1/3 American women will continue to have the need for an abortion. This rate has been steady for decades, now. “Slightly more than one in five U.S. pregnancies ends in abortion, and abortion is one of the most common surgical procedures experienced by U.S. women.”
I’m sure they’ll get the signatures they need. I’m also confident pro-choice Oregon will defeat the initiative, and I hope it’s a fundraising and awareness-raising boon for abortion funds in Oregon.
Speaking of abortion funds in Oregon, a worthy cause to check out is Jennifer Webster’s organization: Network for Reproductive Options
They’re a member of the National Network of Abortion Funds, a network of 100+ organizations that works to raise money to cover abortions for women who would otherwise not have that option. Even in states where people who qualify for Medicaid can have their abortions covered, women struggle to come up with the funds needed for travel to a provider, childcare, prescriptions, and lost wages.
Check out the Network, here: http://www.fundabortionnow.org. In addition to providing over $2 million a year to directly help tens of thousands of women get abortion care, they work to defeat measures like this one and to repeal the unfair Hyde Amendment that bans abortion coverage for the most vulnerable populations.
Interesting…It makes me wonder what number of women who are Pro-choice have actually had an abortion themselves. No one talks about the psychological and emotional effects it has on that woman who does have an abortion, no matter what class she’s in.
My mom had an abortion and it still affects her today. Now that I”m pregnant with my first child, seeing the ultrasounds of the little life in me makes me wonder how people can’t see that as LIFE. Yeah, my little baby is not “sustainable outside the womb” yet, but I’ve been so amazed at the rapid rate at which my baby has matured inside me. I’ve done nothing to grow this life, but keep myself fed…how devastating to end such a life. Even those who are already in devastating situations and get pregnant have other options instead of taking that life.
How about we work on providing more affordable housing, educating the “lower classes” on where they can get help for their issues, helping them get education and better jobs, and then actually walking alongside them to get the help they need for their basic necessities. And why not encourage those we know to start stepping up to the plate to take an active part in these things that lead to abortion…why don’t YOU do something about these things, too?? The government can’t get to everything. But if everyone did something to help someone else get a step up in this economy especially, perhaps we’d be moving more in the right direction.
Don’t talk if you’re not going to walk.