Stealth Anti-Choice Provision Prevails

(Washington, DC) - In an outrageous back-room maneuver, anti-choice legislators inserted a major new restriction on women’s freedom into an omnibus spending bill. This latest move ensures that a significant piece of the anti-choice agenda will become law without a single hearing or an independent vote in the Senate.

The measure at issue is a Federal Refusal Clause allowing HMOs, for-profit hospitals and other health care companies to bar physicians from even talking to their patients about abortion. The House included the Federal Refusal Clause as a "rider" on a massive health funding bill earlier this year, but the Senate did not go along with the stealth strategy. In the closed-door negotiations this week, however, anti-choice lawmakers slipped it into the larger omnibus appropriations legislation. This measure is the third major piece of the anti-choice agenda the Bush crowd has gotten through in 12 months.

The Federal Refusal Clause, essentially a backdoor gag rule, is not restricted to the actual abortion services, but also allows companies not to pay for abortions, counsel, or even refer women clients to another doctor. Further, the proposal strips funds from federal programs, or state or local governments, merely because they attempt to enforce their laws or policies.

NARAL Pro-Choice America Interim President Elizabeth Cavendish said, “This move highlights the true agenda of the far right, which controls Congress and the White House - eliminating a woman’s right to choose. However, they do so in a sneaky back-door fashion because they know the majority of Americans are pro-choice and would not stand for such infringements on their rights. ”

Contact:
Ted Miller, 202.973.3032