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Party USA: Statements |
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Take to the Streets on Saturday, October 3rd! - Honor the memory of
Rosie Jiménez: Demand the Repeal of the Hyde Amendment; Abortion
Access for All Women!
On
October 3, 1977, Rosie Jiménez, from McAllen, Texas-- a
low-income 27 year old mother of a 5 year old daughter-- died from
complications arising from an unsafe abortion. Due to the Hyde
Amendment, banning the use of Medicaid funds for abortion, Ms.
Jiménez was forced to choose between diverting money from her
college education to the cost of a clinic abortion, and having a
cheaper procedure. For the sake of a future as an educated,
self-supporting single-parent, she risked the more dangerous
alternative. Rosie Jiménez was the first known victim of
the Hyde Amendment. Her death came only weeks after this statute
took effect, and days after the first anniversary of its initial
passage.
The
Hyde Amendment, named for its sponsor, Representative Henry Hyde
(R-Ill), began wending its way through Congress in June 1976, as an
amendment to the Health, Education, and Welfare budget. Intended
to prevent federal funding for abortion, it was the first direct
assault on the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. After political
jockeying between the Republicans and the Democrats, the bill was
passed into law on September 30, 1976.
After
court challenges to its constitutionality were rejected, the Hyde
Amendment went into effect in August 1977. It was both a response
to, and encouragement for, agitation by virulent anti-choice forces on
the religious-right— such groups as Operation Rescue and Army of God.
According
to the National Abortion Federation (NAF), since 1977 in the United
States and Canada, property crimes committed against abortion providers
have included 41 bombings, 173 arsons, 91 attempted bombings or arsons,
619 bomb threats, 1630 incidents of trespassing, 1264 incidents of
vandalism, and 100 attacks with butyric acid (“stink bombs”).
Both verbal and physical harassment and intimidation were persistent
occurrences at abortion clinics. Many of these criminal acts are still
classified as “open”. When will violence against women be an
urgent matter for elected officials and law enforcement agencies?
Since
1976, the Hyde Amendment has been inserted each year into the budget of
HEW, now Health and Human Services (HHS), often without debate. In the
1980s, Congress passed into law measures that widened the prohibition
on federal funding of abortions. These provisions continue to affect
millions of women. Those targeted include: 1) federal employees and
their dependents; 2) Native Americans; 3) Military personnel and their
dependents; 4) federal prisoners; 5) low-income residents of the
District of Columbia.
The
current version of the Hyde Amendment allows for federally funded
abortions under Medicaid only in cases of rape, incest, or if the
woman’s life is in danger.
From
1992 to 2002, a coalition of organizations sponsored a day of protest
on October 3rd in memory of Rosie Jiménez and to call for the
repeal of the Hyde Amendment. Today, the issue of abortion
access, especially for low-income women, is more critical than ever.
According to the NAF, more than two-thirds of women must pay for their
abortions themselves. Only 14% of abortions are paid for with a
state’s public funds, and only 13% are covered by a woman’s private
insurance at the time of her abortion.
Clearly,
the legal right to have an abortion has not guaranteed a woman access
to abortion. This fact is underscored by the ban on the coverage
of reproductive health services, including abortion, currently being
proposed for a new Federal health care system. Such a provision
would deny abortion access to even more millions of women.
We
believe that reviving October 3rd as a National Day of Action for
reproductive rights and abortion access is essential. Central to this
effort is the formation of a radical grouping within the broader
reproductive rights movement— one that will build on the energy and
commitment expressed by people from across the U.S. at the massive
April 2004 March for Women’s Lives in Washington D.C.
Those
of us on the left need to be sure a radical voice for reproductive
rights continues to be heard: a voice that places abortion access in
the context of human rights, social and economic justice, and
independent political action.
The
record of the Democratic Party since the passage of the Hyde Amendment
thirty-plus years ago shows that we cannot rely on these politicians to
defend abortion rights or to repeal the Hyde Amendment. This has been
made crystal clear by the fact that the current generation of
Democrats, now led by President Barack Obama, are jumping on the
"family values" bandwagon in characteristically opportunistic fashion—
thus further diluting their commitment to abortion access.
So
this October 3rd, speak out for Rosie Jiménez and all the other
victims of the Hyde Amendment, and similar legislation at the state
level.
Demand
an end to restrictive state laws, to the wholly inadequate number of
abortion facilities and providers, and to discrimination against young,
low-income, and immigrant women, and women of color. Honor our allies--
like doctors David Gunn, George Patterson, John Britton, Barnett
Slepian, and George Tiller; clinic employees Shannon Lowney and Lee Ann
Nichols; and security personnel James Barrett and Robert Sanderson--
who risk, even sacrifice, their lives for abortion rights.
Join
us in taking to the streets on October 3rd to demand abortion access
for all women, and protection for abortion clinics and providers. Only
our grassroots efforts will bring about the repeal of the Hyde
Amendment, guarantee our right to reproductive freedom and to
healthcare justice and equity, and stop all forms of violence against
women.
The
Women’s Commission of the Socialist Party USA
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