Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker's recent column "offered the journalistic equivalent" of a town-hall-style "scare tactic" by "falsely stating that health care reform would lead to federally funded abortions," Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards writes in a Baltimore Sun opinion piece. "The truth is that advocates for women's health care, including Planned Parenthood, are focused on achieving affordable, quality health care for all and ensuring that women's broad health needs are met through reform," Richards states. "Nonetheless, conservative activists and pundits like Ms. Parker are focused on defeating President Obama and blocking reform by spreading false information about one of the most charged topics in health care -- funding abortion," she writes. Richards adds, "We cannot allow them to succeed, and we must come to the defense of their victim -- the truth about reform and women's health."

According to Richards, Parker claimed that "individuals receiving federal subsidies to purchase health insurance under reform will be using government dollars to pay for abortion." Richards explains that an amendment offered by Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) to the House reform bill (HR 3200) "clearly guarantees that all funds used to pay for abortions (whether through a private insurance plan or through the competing public option) will come from private dollars." The amendment also "ensures that individuals who oppose abortion will not be forced to pay for abortion services" by "offering everyone the choice of purchasing a plan that does not include abortion care," Richards states. She notes that the Hyde Amendment since 1976 has prohibited the use of federal funds to pay for abortion, adding that Capps' proposal would simply be "[b]uilding on this 33-year-old arrangement."

Richards continues, "Abortion aside, health reform is an issue of great importance to women," who earn less money than men, are less likely to have employer-sponsored coverage, lose coverage more frequently and "pay 68% more in out-of-pocket costs than men, in part because of reproductive health needs." She adds, "For these reasons and many more, guaranteeing affordable quality health coverage is essential to the well-being of America's women and families."

Richards writes, "Health care reform is not the place to negotiate the legality of reproductive health care." As a provider for more than three million patients annually, PPFA is "eager to focus on what's important -- making health care more accessible and reducing the growing number of teen and unintended pregnancies," she states, concluding, "We believe that true reform, that advances women's health, will do just that" (Richards, Baltimore Sun, 9/10).

Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

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