Military Women Face Increased Threat of Sexual Assault, But No Reproductive Rights

Anti-choice congressional leaders blocked votes on two amendments to the Defense Authorization Act that would have provided compassionate reproductive health services to the thousands of military women who are survivors of sexual violence. The amendments were 1) to have emergency contraception stocked and available on every military base, and 2) to offer federally funded abortion care to military women who are rape or incest survivors. Currently, military health insurance does not cover abortions for any reason, and servicewomen and female military dependents are even prohibited from using their own funds to pay for abortion care at overseas military hospitals.

This is the second consecutive year the House Rules Committee has denied these amendments the right to a vote by their fellow lawmakers, an alarming situation when you look at the number of women reporting sexual attacks in our military. Just last year, there were 2,374 sexual assault cases reported among servicewomen, a 40% increase since 2004. Federal funds (including military health insurance, postal workers' insurance, Medicare and Medicaid in most states) are not allowed to pay for abortion services under the Hyde Amendment, which is approved every year by a vote in Congress. This October marks the 30th year of life under Hyde, and ACCESS will be working as part of a campaign by the National Network of Abortion Funds to raise awareness of the devastating and unjust impact of this law on women's lives and health.

Spawn of Prop 73: Will Parental Notification Be Back This Fall?

It's true - November may bring yet another vote on the issue of mandated parental notification for minors seeking an abortion in California. On May 25, proponents of the ballot initiative officially turned in 912,662 signatures from all but twelve counties (with signatures from the heavily populated Sacramento and Contra Costa Counties still to be submitted). They need a total of 600,000 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, and since the average signature validity rate for initiatives is 75%, it is highly likely that we will see the parental notification initiative on the ballot again this year.

The Campaign for Teen Safety web site is up and running at www.noonproposition73.org, so check frequently for updates. ACCESS is also ready to do our part to fight the initiative and educate people about the dangers of parental involvement laws. We'll keep you posted on how you can help.

New Law Requires Documentation of Citizenship for Medicaid

Beginning July 1, 2006, all Medicaid applicants and recipients will be required to provide proof of citizenship in the form of an official document, like a passport or birth certificate, in order to qualify for the health insurance program. In the past, Medicaid has relied on a sworn statement of citizenship from the individual, which was followed with a request for documentation if it appeared the applicant was not being truthful. This change in policy was signed into law in February as part of the President's Deficit Reduction Act.

The law does not change eligibility criteria for Medicaid (only citizens and certain qualified legal immigrants are eligible for most services anyway), but it does show how anti-immigrant sentiment is being used to justify radical policy decisions. Supposedly intended to prevent undocumented immigrants from fraudulently enrolling in Medicaid, the new requirement will more likely serve to disqualify eligible citizens who are unable to produce the appropriate documents. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that as many as 1.7 million U.S. citizens who are currently receiving Medicaid will be disqualified within the next six months. People at risk of losing their current health care or being denied new coverage include those from rural areas and older African Americans, both groups with a high likelihood of undocumented at-home births, as well as teens, people displaced by Hurricane Katrina, and low-income people, who are unlikely to have access to the necessary paperwork to prove citizenship.

As a federal law, this requirement will apply to California, but it is not yet clear how many of our Medicaid programs will be affected. Medi-Cal pays for abortion with state-only funds, so in theory the requirements should not apply to women applying for abortion coverage. However, the law will apply to prenatal coverage and full-scope Medi-Cal, and probably to Family PACT coverage for pap smears, contraceptives and other preventative reproductive health services. ACCESS is monitoring the situation and will let you know about opportunities to protest the law and to help educate people about how they can still get Medi-Cal in a timely manner.

Support for Access to Safe, Legal Abortion: Going, Going, Gone?

A recent poll of 1,106 adults indicates that U.S. support for Roe v. Wade has reached its lowest level in decades. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal last month, the Harris Institute found that support for Roe has dropped 4% since last year, and 8 percentage points over the last eight years, from 57% to just 49% today. 47% of those surveyed were opposed to Roe, with the other 4% presumably undecided.

Support for restrictions on access to abortion also appear to be strong, since 40% of those polled favor laws that would make it more difficult for a woman to get an abortion, while another 40% say no change should be made to existing abortion laws, and 15% favor laws that would make it easier to get an abortion. Additionally, 44% of those questioned said they would support legislation in their state similar to that recently introduced in South Dakota, which bans abortion in any situation other than that in which the pregnant woman's life is threatened. Interestingly, despite waning support for legal abortion, the poll also found that most people do not think Roe v. Wade will be overturned by the current Supreme Court any time in the near future. Looks like weve got our work cut out for us!