Everybody has an opinion on abortion, opinions that aren't very likely to be swayed and are fiercly defended. This contested issue turns all legislation that it touches into a hot potato, and the subject of the legislation into a warzone.
This is something to keep in mind when you read about the provision added into the Indian Health Care Improvement Act by Sen. Vitter. The very point of this Act is to bring urgently needed competent health care to Indian Country. The poison pill introduced to the Act is going to do more harm then good, as well as make the slope ever more slippery.
from In These Times:
The Senate’s recent passage of the Indian Health Care Improvement
Act was a breakthrough for advocacy groups that have long pushed for
the bill’s provisions — new programs, improved facilities and funding
for the Indian Health Services (IHS) system, which serves about 1.9
million people nationwide.
But the victory is dampened by a poison pill provision slipped in by
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) that explicitly restricts abortions under IHS
programs. The amendment was approved along with the bill in February.
As In These Times went to press, it was unclear whether the House would vote on companion legislation carrying a similar amendment.
Speaking at a Right to Life rally in January, Vitter boasted that
his amendment put “clear, strong, pro-life language in that Indian
healthcare bill.”
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