Posts Tagged ‘house’
Health care bill: would Stupak pass if we had more women?
This weekend, the House narrowly passed a health care reform bill after delivering a huge blow to women’s reproductive health in the Stupak amendment—thus demonstrating again how badly we need more women in power.
According to NARAL Pro-Choice America:
“The Stupak-Pitts amendment makes it virtually impossible for private insurance companies that participate in the new system to offer abortion coverage to women. This would have the effect of denying women the right to use their own personal private funds to purchase an insurance plan with abortion coverage in the new health system — a radical departure from the status quo.”
As Feministing points out, we thought it was clear “that reproductive health care is essential health care.”
But apparently not, because the Stupak amendment passed 240-194. How many women voted for it? 19. (2 Dems, all Repubicans). Allow me to do a little math:
Out of 435 members, we currently have only 73 women in the House. We should have 217.5. (OK, round that up to 218 I suppose). So, that means we need 145 more women to make it equal.
What do you suppose would happen with the anti-choice, anti-woman Stupak amendment if we had gender equality in Congress for this vote?
I dare to say that not only would it be defeated—it wouldn’t have even a whisper of a wish of passing. (That is, if it was even introduced at all).
Like many women around the country today, I’m feeling very bittersweet about the health care bill passing. Of course we need health care reform, but it shouldn’t have to come at the cost of rolling back our reproductive choices.
Sure, the Stupak amendment could be stripped out by the conference committee, but how many women will be part of that decision-making process? Most likely, not nearly enough.
Women Who Throw: Congressional Women’s Softball Game
This post was submitted by Jamie Bence, one of WCF’s Summer 2009 Fellows.
I think I may have just been witness to a milestone in the battle for gender parity: There are now enough women in the U.S. House and Senate to fill a softball team. Moreover, they can play a team made up entirely of female staff members from the DNC and RNC!
Last night, I attended the first annual Congressional Women’s Softball Game. Held in DC’s lovely Georgetown neighborhood, the game featured members and staff from the DNC and RNC- facing off in a (truly competitive) game. It was an exciting night, and it all raised money for a great cause.
A few WCF-endorsed candidates showed off their athletic skills. Kirsten Gillibrand proved to have an excellent pitching arm. Florida’s Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz was a captain of the members’ team, but played a little too hard- fracturing her leg while sliding into second base (but nonetheless returned to work bright and early this morning)! Speaker Pelosi stayed in the stands, but Senator Susan Collins, Representative Shelley Berkley and Grace Napolitano were in uniform for the event.
The game raised more than $41 thousand for Young Survival Coalition (YSC) which educates and supports young women living with breast cancer. Though the spirit of bipartisanship ran deep for this worthy cause, the game, of course, had winners and losers. In the end, the staffers won, 14-8.
