House Passes Historic Health Care Reform Bill!

As many of you know, the health care bill was passed by Congress late last night by a vote of 219 to 212. This bill, one that Obama has been promoting and arguing for since he ran for office, will provide many positive changes in the lives of Americans, and will affect all citizens in one way or another.

In regards to affecting women’s reproductive rights, Planned Parenthood is pleased that the health care reform bill will extend health care coverage to tens of millions of women and families, guarantee access to affordable life-saving screenings for breast and cervical cancer, protect women against gender discrimination by private insurers, end the practice of dropping coverage because of pre-existing conditions, and significantly increase insurance coverage of reproductive health care, including family planning.

Thanks to supporters like you, we were able to keep the Stupak abortion ban out of the final legislation and President Obama did not include the Stupak language in his Executive Order. Unfortunately, the bill includes the Nelson amendment that will impose new and severe restrictions on private health insurance coverage for abortion for millions of women. While we celebrate the passage of health care reform, we're going to need your commitment to fix the damage caused by the Nelson amendment — and that starts right now.

Take a moment to check out the statement by Cecile Richards, President of PPFA, about the bill being passed. Also, this Planned Parenthood website provides a list of representatives and whether they voted YES or NO on the bill. Feel free to follow the links to thank or express your concern about how they voted!