If Healthcare Fails, They’ll Blame Women
December 7, 2009
by Amy Siskind
|(This story is also featured at The Huffington Post.)
As if we didn’t see this coming.
The ability of the Senate to pass the healthcare bill could well come down to one issue – abortion.
Let me give you the advance preview of how this will play out. The Senate will reach a compromise on the Public Option. Then, Sen Reid and Speaker Pelosi will continue their appeal of this moment in history (e.g. so suck it up ladies).
In fact, Sen Reid already greased the wheels for this today when he made his impassioned speech comparing those who oppose this historic bill to folks who are pro-slavery. For those of us who voted for Hillary and/or McCain, we’re already used to this – follow along now or be called a racist.
But this piece is not about abortion. This piece is about WHO is speaking out on women’s issues – including the Mammogram Amendment passed earlier this week: it’s our female politicians of BOTH parties.
So to all of you who assume that the Democrats are the savior of women’s rights or even of the right to choice, think again. Today’s Amendment to ban abortion funding comes courtesy of a Democrat from Nebraska with a very bad hair piece. And joining him is another Democrat and dear friend of our President, Sen Casey of Pennsylvania. And the President has this to say in defense of an issue on which so many women voted for him: “ ” (yes, there’s nothing between those quotes).
The best hope for women once again are women of BOTH parties.
In the House:
Abortion rights supporters in the House were circulating a letter to Pelosi, threatening to vote against a final bill that restricts access to abortion coverage. At least 40 lawmakers had signed by early Monday.
“I, along with the other pro-choice members in the House, intend to push very hard to ensure that language is not included in the final conference product,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.
In the Senate:
They’re likely to have help in the Senate from two Republican women who support abortion rights, Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine. Collins indicated Monday that she thinks the House went too far.
“I think the Senate Finance Committee did a good job of putting up a firewall that would prevent federal funds from being used for abortion,” she said. “Generally, I prefer the Senate approach.”
And of course also in the Senate we’ve featured the tireless work of Senator Gillibrand who today again wrote a piece featured at HuffPo called Stopping Stupak in the Senate.
I’d like to add not a single male politician is taking the lead in the House or the Senate. And, as we’ve state in prior pieces here, even men who women would have considered an ally like Nicholas Kristof have tried to tell us to get in line.
So expect the full court press tomorrow ladies. It’s WOMEN LAST. C’mon ladies, you’re not going to get in the way of making history now are you? Damn straight!
“I’d like to add not a single male politician is taking the lead in the House or the Senate.”
Oh really? (snark alert) But How Can You Be So Cynical!!!!!!!! There are so many millllllllions of faaaaaaabulous men out there!!! That’s why we’re in the precarious, barely tolerated position we’re in today! Because SO MANY MEN ARE JUST SO FANTASTIC!!!!
You have to really dissect the Patriarchy to understand how an unfair bill like this could be passed, and why there is so much controversy over a fair bill. The whole reason we never had free healthcare, when it should be a right for any ethical society, is because men wanted control over women. They exercised that control with something called ‘families’. If women has free community healthcare, if everyone had free healthcare as a right of a citizen of a community of people, and not simply as a family member, then that would be one less reason why women would ever betroth themselves to a man. So look, they do the best they can to keep an unfair financial burden on women, by not addressing their needs, and chipping away their needs in the healthcare bill, while covering all of men’s, indeed, all of men’s needs and beyond their needs to include Viagra coverage. When will tampons be covered? That’s what I want to know.
It’s as if the health care bill wants to say “well, the solution to homelessness is that we are going to mandate that everyone buy houses, so we will make an affordable housing plan, that we will determine it’s affordability, but if you, women, want to buy a house that, you can sleep in at night, well, you’ll just have to go private, because this house only sleeps men”
So women, if you want your special “female” needs taken care of, mammagrams, birth control, etc, you are probably going to have to go private, which means shelling out a little more, and being taxed on the premium..which for most women means, marriage to a man, because they cannot afford such a thing on their own (because of discrimination, unfair taxation on women, and bad economic practices of the men). It’s as if men do not realize that it is those ‘special’ female needs that run the goddamn planet and is the backbone of any economy.
Touche, Janis.
*****A
I’m pretty sure that most maternity care and birthing is not covered under this bill but I could be wrong. THEN, on TOP of that, look at how it antagonizes single parenthood, most of which falls on women. You will have to cover your dependents until age 27!!!! The bill is obviously an unfair bill designed to free up resources for men and burden the women into marriage.
Good points about how the health care bill is going to keep women financially dependent. It’s also going to make it very difficult for women to rise out of poverty. If your income increases, you lose your health insurance subsidy and you have to pay your own premiums (and the premiums of your dependents under 27) or face a fine. So much for trying to work a second job or getting a raise. Women will be forced to keep their incomes low.
Somebody suggested a bumper sticker, “don’t blame me, I voted for the chick.” I kind of like it.
Right..they are legislating morality. Fine, make an unfair bill. We are used to it. It won’t help the economy. It will hurt the economy, for anyone who actually understands how human economy works at the natural fundamental level (the womb). But don’t penalize people for not buying into it. We are already, as women, taxed unfairly. We are paying for single men and other burdens on society, crime, discrimination etc. But this bill will raise our taxes to pay for men’s viagra, among other male needs that are not the needs of a human society, but for their own pleasure. Don’t penalize us for not buying it. Don’t make it illegal to be a woman.
and I’m really surprised that they are calling us pro slavery, or racist, because this bill is so White-Bred, middle class, and so pollyanna..it comes from the mindset of White, Upper Middle Class, yuppy men, with families who are maybe..I don’t know..20% of America..that could possibly hold this fairytail viewpoint of “let them eat cake”
It’s amazing to me how they are withholding healthcare from women and then blaming us for wanting in on their happy little buffet for everyone but us.
It’s incredible to me how men spend half their adult lives trying to get theirh ands on tits and their dicks up cunts, and they obviously think that both body parts are analogous to dog turds for all they give a damn for them. Gimme your pussy bitch, and then die from it when it goes rancid on you.
Janis..seriously. This healthcare bill is so ridiculously pro-men, that I’m not surprised beer and porn isn’t also covered. They wont’ give up single payer healthcare. They won’t make healthcare a right for everyone. Notice that healthcare isn’t a right under this bill. It’s not a right because then women would have it for their own reproduction, which is currently the right of men.
Has anyone wondered what is supposed to happen to the people who can’t afford the so called affordable public option? They get fined, from what I hear. What happens if they can’t afford the fine? Does it go on their credit report? Does it come out of their wages automatically? Do they go to jail? Are kids taken away from single mother’s who can’t afford to wean them until age 27?
This is very simple, it’s legislating the patriarchy; legislating women’s unnatural dependence on men.
Ann Valentine,
Amen
But I suppose in a roundabout way beer and porn is covered, because this, increasing the financial burden on women through increased premiums, increased taxes, increase legal pressure and governmental intrusion on her person, her body and her family, and increased taxes will almost insure women for men as either wives or prostitutes. It’s funny how ignorant men can be. They really honestly, and let’s make no mistake about it, all every single one of those middle aged white men has on his mind is legislating morality and punishing single mothers, and punishing women’s bodies, think that they can legislate their version of morality. But their version of morality doesn’t include prolific prostitution, which is what the result is going to be, though they frequent prostitutes themselves. Vile, reprehensible, hypocrits!
And then we are supposed to act surprised when a man’s sexual escapades hits the spotlight. I see men acting shocked and surprised and villifying Tiger’s behavior. But we know nearly all of them have a woman on the side, or 8 women, or 20 women, and who knows how many. But each one definitely visits prostitutes, has a sugar baby, and is doing the assistant and the waitress. They think they are sly. Women are supposed to act surprised, but we all know. That’s why I’m bewildered when we are supposed to believe a woman should be shocked that her husband is doin so-and-so, and she isn’t shocked at all. None of us are shocked men. We just want you to know that your time as Patriarchs is coming to an end.
I wonder how much of this is done consciously by the men in power.
It is all done both consciously and uncinsciously. They think it, and it’s the air they breathe — both.
I’m so glad someone finally said this on the Senate floor:
http://www.realclearpolitics.c.....rtion.html
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