Senate Rejects Nelson's Anti-Abortion Amendment

by Alex DiBranco · 2009-12-08 16:44:00 UTC
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On Monday, Senator Ben Nelson (claims-to-be-a-Democrat-NE) demonstrated his utter disdain for women's reproductive rights by introducing an amendment that would bring Stupak language barring abortion coverage into the Senate health care bill. Today, 54 Senators told him where he could stick his amendment.

The failed anti-choice act did trigger a couple of great responses, which hopefully will be kept in mind when the Senate health care bill has to be reconciled with the House version, with its infamous Stupak amendment.

First off, Jon O'Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, immediately issued a press release accusing Nelson of bending to lobbying pressure from U.S. Catholic bishops instead of considering women's health care needs. O'Brien further takes those bishops to task for meddling in politics, where "the vast majority of Catholics" don't want to see them, striking one great blow for the many liberal Catholics who get stuck apologizing for the rightward swing of Church authorities. Hopefully the religious left will put up a strong defense for women's reproductive rights in days to come.

And on the Senate floor, Barbara Boxer (D-CA) takes her (ahem, male) colleagues to task for discriminating against a procedure for women, when they haven't tried to restrict coverage for anything regarding men's reproductive health -- like, say, Viagra. Check out the awesome video out after the jump.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia commons.


Alex DiBranco is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.
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