‘Twas the night before Conference, when all through the House…Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The amendments were hung by the manager’s chair, In hope that the votes soon would be there.
What women legislators should have said: It’s time to start over with this so-called health care bill. We’re not buying your Hobson’s Choice and neither are the women of America. We know who we represent, and we’re here to fight for them.
It would be a profound tragedy if the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops blocks health reform. Religious leaders and people of faith must stand up for powerful changes that protect families and address the causes and problems of poverty.
Tonight, the Senate defeated an attempt by Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE), Orrin Hatch (R-OR) and Bob Casey (D-PA) to insert a “Stupak” amendment into the Senate health reform bill.
Yesterday, Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) took her colleague Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE)–and much of the Republican party and the anti-choice movement–"to school" in one of the most effective speeches against the Nelson (Stupak) Amendment.
Coburn says "health care should be about your needs and your health and the decisions made between you and your doctor," and the government shouldn’t get involved in making decisions for you. Uh-huh. We’ve been saying that for a a long time.
Thirteen religious organizations sent a letter to the Senate members calling on them to vote against efforts to amend the bill with Stupak language.
Reports indicate that Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) intends to introduce an amendment to the Senate health-care bill today to mimic restrictions under the Stupak-Pitts amendment in the House health reform bill. He has not yet shared the amendment with colleagues but Democratic aides suggest it will likely be defeated.
An analysis of the criteria originally set out by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops as priorities for health reform finds that the Bishops have moved the goal posts on their original insistence that reform be “abortion-neutral.”
Just in case you had any doubt about the direct–and I mean direct–intervention of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in curtailing women’s rights in US health reform legislation, here is the latest evidence of how some representatives are working at what appears to be the behest of the bishops. Ben Nelson is holding a Senate Stupak Amendment until the Bishops “have time to review it.”
