I have never had an abortion. If anyone that I know has had one, they haven’t told me about it. I hope that I never have an abortion, because that would mean that I was pregnant when I didn’t want to be or when I wasn’t ready to be or when I couldn’t afford to be, etc. I hope that the day I do find out that I’m pregnant will be one of the best days of my life. But, if it’s not, and I don’t want to be pregnant, I hope that my insurance company would help me pay for the legal, medical procedure known as abortion.

However, even with a Democratic president and Democratic control of both the House and Senate, an anti-abortion amendment, known as the Stupak amendment,  passed the House on Saturday (with 26 Democratic votes). The amendment would, effectively, bar, or at least highly discourage, all health insurance companies from providing coverage for abortion.

Abortions are already highly difficult for many, many women to get. Finding a clinic that offers the procedure, working with your state’s anti-abortion laws (such as a waiting period, ultrasound requirements, and parental notification laws), dealing with the unfortunate social stigma, reconciling religious views, getting the time off work, and being able to afford the procedure whether your insurance covers it or not- that is, if you’re lucky enough to have health insurance at all- all of these factors are already working against women. If the Stupak anti-abortion amendment passes the final congressional vote, getting an abortion is going to get a lot harder.

This is not okay with me. As I said, I’ve never had an abortion, I don’t know of anyone who has, and I hope that I’m never in a position that I would make that choice. But I understand that whether I personally end up in need of an abortion or not, it’s not okay to make a law that says that insurance companies cannot cover any particular medical procedure for selfish, political reasons. Abortion is a personal choice. Usually, it’s a Republican trademark to complain about government involvement in people’s personal lives, and I’m certainly no Republican, but the government has already interfered too much on this issue. If I ever get an abortion, it’s going to be my choice- not the choice of anyone in Congress. They don’t know me. They don’t know my situation. Many of them don’t share my values. So why would it be okay with me for them to be in charge of deciding what happens, or doesn’t happen, to my body?

Please do all that you can to reach out to your members of Congress and urge them to stand up for women’s rights. This is SO important. We cannot lose the minimal rights we have.

~ Samantha