Anti-Choice Representatives Launch New Attack on Women of Color
By
Thomas
on December 7, 2011 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)
Just when you thought the anti-choice leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives couldn’t sink any lower, they go and do something even more shockingly offensive than you could have imagined.
Yesterday, a key House subcommittee held a hearing on a bill introduced by anti-choice Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) that could attack the ability of a woman of color to make private medical decisions with her doctor free from government intrusion.
The so-called “Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act” could subject a doctor to up to five years in prison for failing to determine if race or sex is a factor in a woman’s decision to terminate a pregnancy.
Ultimately, it could wrongly compel doctors to single out women of color and immigrant communities for additional scrutiny and questioning before providing care. This is tantamount to racial profiling in the doctor’s office.
NARAL Pro-Choice America and our state affiliates submitted testimony to the subcommittee in opposition to this bill.
Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said the bill represented cynical politics at their worst:
No woman’s reproductive choices should be subjected to more scrutiny or control based on her racial or ethnic background. Nor should women be stigmatized for their choices.
The Franks bill exploits the very real problems of racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination while failing to offer any genuine solutions that would eliminate disparities in health care access and information. Rather than attacking a woman’s right to choose, lawmakers with a sincere interest in addressing racism and gender bias should support policies that work to combat the bias and stereotypes that continue to plague our society. This alternative approach would unify - not divide - our country and could achieve important advances without taking away any woman’s right to make her own personal, private medical decisions.
Does Rep. Franks have a sincere interest in addressing racism and gender bias? Let’s take a look at his record:
He received a five-percent rating from the NAACP on civil rights.
He voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
He voted against extending the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.