I've always been a bit wobbly on abortion rights, so it should come as no surprise that I'm not terribly bothered by either the Stupak amendment or the Nelson amendment, both of which would limit federal funding for abortion in the new health care regime. In 2005 the average cost of an outpatient abortion was $413. Honestly, this is not a lot of money, even for poor women. You'd be amazed at the money even very poor people can come up with if they are sufficiently motivated.
Of course taxpayer dollars go to a whole range of programs that I think are either practically unwise or morally dubious, but I pay my taxes anyway. On balance, the bureaucracy is a net benefit to human flourishing. If these restrictions didn't make it into the final bill then that won't change my support for it; I'm so over the politics of purity (see below). At the same time, if you're really into "justice," then aren't there bigger hills to die on than getting in and out of an abortion clinic for a copay and some change?
Dear Avdat,
My name is Barbara O’ Brien and my blogging at The Mahablog, Crooks and Liars, AlterNet, and elsewhere on the progressive political and health blogophere has earned me the notoriety of being a panelist at the Yearly Kos Convention and a featured guest blogger at the Take Back America Conference in Washington, DC.
I’m contacting you because I found your site in a prominent political and health reform blog search and want to tell you about my newest blogging platform —the public concern of health care and its reform. Our shared concerns include health reform, public health, safe workplaces, and asbestos contamination.
To increase awareness on these important issues, my goal is to get a resource link on your site or even allow me to provide a guest posting. Please contact me back, I hope to hear from you soon. Drop by our site in the meantime—www.maacenter.org/blog.
Sincerely,
Barbara O’ Brien
barbaraobrien@maacenter.org
Posted by: Barbara O' Brien | 04 January 2010 at 04:23 PM