Republican Right Taking Women "Down" ......With God's Help

by Claudia Stravato

Panhandle Truth Squad is honored to have Claudia Stravato join us as our newest columnist. Ms. Stravato is currently CEO of Planned Parenthood of Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle; a part-time Political Science Instructor at WT A&M University; a former Chief of Staff to Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock; and a former Deputy Comptroller of Texas for Comptroller Bob Bullock. She earned her BS and MA in Political Science from West Texas A&M.

The 40th anniversary of "The Pill" was last week. You would think women would have a lot to celebrate in their release from the constraints of "anatomy," but when looking at recent Congressional actions, you will find that just the opposite is the case! The religious right appear to have declared war on women and are calling on God to help them stamp out gains made by women in the last 40 years. Their arguments harken back to a time when women had limited roles to play and few opportunities to explore. The times have changed, but these moss-backs have not. More frightening are their ardent claims that God is on their side.

Today, almost 17 million women need publicly supported contraceptive care - a number which grew by 400,000 alone between 2000 and 2002 due to a rising uninsured population with the majority living in Texas. The Texas Panhandle has 32,000 women qualified for federally funded family planning services. Yet, the country's Title X family planning program has had few increases in over 20 years. The costs to provide these services have risen dramatically but the funding levels have remained flat. The result is that funding for only 8,000 women is available each year in the Panhandle. This year Rep. Weldon (R-FL) added a federal refusal clause to the Title X funding bill that states pharmacists don't have to fill prescriptions for contraceptives if they feel it violates their conscience. Title X is a vital health care safety net and is more important than ever in meeting the family planning needs of low-income women. If you want to write a letter, send a quick one to Mac Thornberry asking him to increase Title X funding and to reject the Weldon Amendment.

Priscilla Owen was confirmed this week to a federal judgeship after 4-years of stiff opposition by Democrats and moderate Republicans. She is an avowed opponent of women's reproductive rights and will now be in a position to influence reproductive rights decisions on the 5th Circuit Court which includes Texas.

Administration officials announced that they will create an advisory panel (to be appointed by the head of HHS who was appointed by the President) to make recommendations on the future of Medicaid. By September 1st, the Commission is charged with recommending ways to cut $10 billion, and by December 31st it will make longer-term recommendations on the future of Medicaid. The Administration rejected a bipartisan Congressional request for having the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine (IOM) make the recommendations. This move can only hurt women and children who are the largest recipients of Medicaid.

Something is wrong when attempts to expand access to preventive health services for poor women are blocked, but sex offenders can use public funds to obtain Viagra. At the same time, economically disadvantaged women are denied access to medical care that could save their lives. It is disturbing that while lawmakers may successfully block the use of Medicaid funds for Viagra for sex offenders, they do little to limit coverage for sex-enhancing medication for non-sex offenders in group health insurance policies while most of these same group policies do NOT cover contraceptives for women. Legislation for contraceptive equity has languished in Congress for four terms.

David Hager, M.D, a conservative evangelical OB-GYN and an administration appointee to the FDA advisory committee, influenced the FDA to make an unprecedented decision to ignore it's own advisory committee's recommendation and deny an application to make Plan B emergency contraception available over-the-counter (OTC). Supporters of the OTC application have long-argued that the FDA decision to reject the application was not scientifically based. Hager was one of only four members of an FDA Advisory Committee that voted against making Plan B available OTC to all women. According to the press reports, Hager claimed that after the 23-4 advisory committee vote in December 2003, he was asked to write a memo to the FDA commissioner arguing against the application. In a public sermon Hager claimed that his memo played a central role in the FDA rejection of the Plan B application. He said, "I argued from a scientific perspective, and God took that information, and he used it through this minority report to influence the decision. Once again, what Satan meant for evil, God turned into good." Sen. Clinton has asked for an investigation into the decision made by Dr. Lester Crawford, acting chair of the FDA, who is up for confirmation to be head of the FDA.

Current law prohibits military personnel and their families from accessing abortion services at military health facilities even if they pay for these services with their own private funds. This ban threatens the health and lives of women serving overseas, forcing them to leave base hospitals in order to access abortion services. An amendment to restore access to privately funded abortion services for US military women and women dependents was defeated last week, depriving military of their constitutionally-protected right to choose.

Tucked into the $388 billion budget measure is a sweeping provision that has nothing to do with providing money for the government. In essence, it tells health care companies, hospitals and insurance companies they are free to ignore Roe v. Wade when it comes to informing women about access to reproductive health services including access to abortion. The intention, plainly, is to further curtail already dwindling access to abortion and even to counseling that mentions abortion as a legal option.

While this is an affront to women's rights, it should not obscure the serious threat to the First Amendment involved in enacting what is likely to evolve into a domestic "gag rule" as, one by one, health care providers order doctors they employ not to provide patients with information about the abortion option. President Bush reimposed a blanket Reagan-era "gag rule" for providers of reproductive health services abroad on his first full day in office back
in 2001.

On May 25, women's rights advocates and military leaders beat back an effort by some conservative Republican members to deny servicewomen assignments in combat support companies. House Armed Services Committee Chair Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., dropped language in his committee-adopted amendment to incorporate into federal law a 1994 military rule against women serving in direct ground combat units below the brigade level. They will try it again even though the military now supports having women in these companies. And, since all areas of Iraq are combat zones, they would have to pull out women out if they followed their own rules.

If any reader finds these actions and lack of actions anything to celebrate, I challenge them to a debate. These recent activities of Congress can be called only one thing: regressive and anti-woman.

Claudia Stravato