Health care reform process brings up abortion debate
By Tessa McClellan
Oct. 7, 2009 11:57 p.m.
As the health care reform process grows increasingly complicated, the resurgence of abortion as a major topic for debate does little to ease the heated conflict.
“Abortion is always contentious in our society,” said Paula Tavrow, director of UCLA’s Bixby Program in Population and Reproductive Health. “Whenever you are going to be talking about anything related to health and abortion, you have to expect debate and concerns.”
But, whether abortion will derail the reform or modify the new health care system remains to be seen.
Lydia Mazuryk, committee whip of the Bruin Republicans, said that the general consensus is that the Democratic majority in Congress will grant the votes to pass the health care reform bill.
However, she doubts their ability to pass the bill given the objections of the moderate and “Blue Dog,” or fiscally conservative, Democrats.
“If they are trying to keep costs down, including abortion subsidies will continue to raise the cost,” she added.
However, Matt Margolis, a former Daily Bruin assistant Viewpoint editor and the internal vice president of Bruin Democrats, said that the abortion issue was irrelevant to the health care discussion.
“Our No. 1 goal here is to reform the health care system,” he said. “We feel that the abortion issue in terms of the health care debate is ultimately a distraction used by people who oppose any sort of public option at all.”
Tavrow said that though she believes abortion could distort the reform and lead to compromises that do not necessarily provide improved coverage, she does not believe it will terminate the reform completely.
“I don’t think it will torpedo this effort because it has enough momentum and executive pushing,” she said. “But it’s not a small issue. … Sadly, the fact that it’s been raised and used is troubling.”
The controversy surrounding federal funding for abortion dates back to the passage of the Hyde Amendment in 1976, which prohibits the appropriation of federal funds toward abortion, Tavrow said.
But, she added, 17 states, including California, have found ways to skirt this restriction and provide funding by using state resources or restructuring the budget.
The current debate between lawmakers centers on whether the subsidies provided to low-income individuals should include the provision of access to abortion services, Tavrow said.
“If it does, then you actually are expanding access in the country,” she added. “If it doesn’t, you’re contracting access.”
Courtney Burks, public health graduate student and member of the Reproductive Health Interest Group, said she believes that the debate surrounding abortion will disturb the process of health care reform and slow any sort of progress being made.
Tavrow said that because students or recent college graduates comprise a large percentage of the uninsured population, the compromises that result from the debate on the inclusion of abortion into the new health care bill could weigh heavily on individuals in their 20s.
Burks said the general reproductive health of students could be affected by the omission of abortion and other reproductive health services.
“Obviously, unplanned pregnancy and an increase in the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections are huge issues, especially among the youth population,” Burks said. “If young people don’t have access to family planning resources, it could negatively affect their overall quality of life.”
This delay in the health care reform process may also be motivation for continuing the discussion.
“This isn’t necessarily about abortion,” Tavrow said. “It might be a good stalling tactic.”
She added that raising the issue might provide Republicans and centrist Democrats who do not agree with health care reform the opportunity to curtail the process or force reformers to give up completely.
“It also points to the division within the Democrats, which is concerning,” she added. “The Democrats have to work this out among themselves.”
Mazuryk said the heated nature of the debate does not surprise her.
“For a lot of Americans, abortion is a very personal and religious issue,” Mazuryk added. “I don’t think that it really falls underneath the health care umbrella.”
