Jill at Feministe has a good item on some interesting abortion-related legislation that’s going to be unveiled this week, both of which are worth paying attention to.
Rep. Lincoln Davis (D-Tenn.), who opposes abortion rights, on Wednesday is scheduled to announce he is introducing a bill that would aim to reduce the number of abortions by establishing health care- and child care-related programs to support pregnant women, Roll Call reports. The measure — called the Pregnant Women Support Act — is modeled after Democrats for Life of America’s “95-10 Initiative,” which aims to reduce the U.S. abortion rate by 95% over the next 10 years.
According to Roll Call, another bill (HR 6067) — which was introduced last week by Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who opposes abortion rights, and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who supports abortion rights — also is modeled in part on the 95-10 Initiative (Yanchin, Roll Call, 9/20). Ryan and DeLauro’s bill would require states to cover contraceptives for women with incomes of up to 200% of the federal poverty level, establish grants for sex education programs and require programs with a focus on abstinence to include thorough instruction on contraceptives.
The measure, which includes 20 initiatives, also would increase funding for health care for low-income women with children, provide no-cost visits from nurses to teens and women who have given birth for the first time, expand a tax credit for adoption and fund child care services for parents in college.
For pro-choice advocates, there’s plenty to like — the “95-10” approach expands women’s health care programs, emphasizes contraception equity in health care plans, and makes adoption tax credits permanent. Better yet, it would demand full funding for the federal WIC program.
But let’s not forget that there’s a flip-side to all of this.
I haven’t seen the details of Davis’ “Pregnant Women Support Act” or the Ryan/DeLauro bill, so it’s too soon to say with any certainty whether the legislation will stick to the original “95-10 Initiative” or not, but when the plan was crafted last year, the “95-10” framework emphasized prevention of unwanted pregnancies — but also included a ban on late-term abortions and a new parental-notification law.
To be sure, the whole idea is very popular with pro-life Dems. Back in April 2005, Democrats For Life of America joined Dem Reps. Tim Ryan, Bart Stupak, and Lincoln Davis at a national press conference at the Democratic National Committee to unveil the idea. Since then, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) has signed on as a supporter, as has Reps. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.). Former congressman and 9-11 Commission member Tim Roemer has not only endorsed the policy, but promised to help lobby for it.
Late last year, even some pro-choice Dems were warming up to the idea.
Obviously, with the session nearly complete, there’s simply no way that these bills will even get a cursory glance. Instead, proponents probably look at this as an opportunity to help chance the discussion a bit.
Republicans and conservative activists have already rejected anything that looks like a compromise, but if Dems take back Congress, this is the kind of legislative effort that’s likely to get a serious look. Stay tuned.