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'Worst Bill for Women' Could Get Worse as 13 Men Tackle Trumpcare in Senate
"When women aren't at the table, they're on the menu," says Planned Parenthood president
May 05, 2017
With House Republicans having voted to pass the "astonishingly evil" American Healthcare Act (AHCA), the Senate GOP has assembled a group to craft that chamber's version of the bill known as Trumpcare--and its made up of all men.
While Trumpcare would take health insurance away from tens of millions of Americans and raises costs for people nationwide, it has become clear that the Republican healthcare bill passed in the U.S. House Thursday is nothing less than what one advocacy group explicitly called "a declaration of war on women."
From eliminating the requirement that all healthcare plans cover maternity care; to allowing insurers to once again charge people more for "pre-existing conditions" including sexual assault and postpartum depression; to defunding Planned Parenthood; to further restricting abortion care, "Trump's plan is dangerous for women's health and our ability to make decisions about our futures and our families," said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights.
"This government is very deliberately laying the groundwork for conditions that will harm women--in fact, everyone who is not rich, white, and male," said Janette Robinson-Flint, executive director of Black Women for Wellness. "Shame on those selfish men."
Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, called it "the worst bill for women's health in a generation."
Now, adding insult to injury, sources report Friday that the senators who are working on their chamber's version of the legislation are a bunch of...men. Almost all white men, at that.
According to Dylan Scott of Vox and other reporters, the 13 senators named to the healthcare bill working group are:
- Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
- Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)
- Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)
- Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.)
- John Thune (R-S.D.)
- Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
- Mike Lee (R-Utah)
- Tom Cotton (R-Ark.)
- Cory Gardner (R-Colo.)
- John Barrasso (R-Wyo.)
- John Cornyn (R-Texas)
- Rob Portman (R-Ohio)
The news brought further outcry. Richards, for her part, tweeted, "When women aren't at the table, we're on the menu."
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) accused his colleagues of being "gutless":
Others piled on:
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Andrea Germanos
Andrea Germanos is a senior editor and staff writer at Common Dreams.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
With House Republicans having voted to pass the "astonishingly evil" American Healthcare Act (AHCA), the Senate GOP has assembled a group to craft that chamber's version of the bill known as Trumpcare--and its made up of all men.
While Trumpcare would take health insurance away from tens of millions of Americans and raises costs for people nationwide, it has become clear that the Republican healthcare bill passed in the U.S. House Thursday is nothing less than what one advocacy group explicitly called "a declaration of war on women."
From eliminating the requirement that all healthcare plans cover maternity care; to allowing insurers to once again charge people more for "pre-existing conditions" including sexual assault and postpartum depression; to defunding Planned Parenthood; to further restricting abortion care, "Trump's plan is dangerous for women's health and our ability to make decisions about our futures and our families," said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights.
"This government is very deliberately laying the groundwork for conditions that will harm women--in fact, everyone who is not rich, white, and male," said Janette Robinson-Flint, executive director of Black Women for Wellness. "Shame on those selfish men."
Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, called it "the worst bill for women's health in a generation."
Now, adding insult to injury, sources report Friday that the senators who are working on their chamber's version of the legislation are a bunch of...men. Almost all white men, at that.
According to Dylan Scott of Vox and other reporters, the 13 senators named to the healthcare bill working group are:
- Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
- Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)
- Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)
- Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.)
- John Thune (R-S.D.)
- Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
- Mike Lee (R-Utah)
- Tom Cotton (R-Ark.)
- Cory Gardner (R-Colo.)
- John Barrasso (R-Wyo.)
- John Cornyn (R-Texas)
- Rob Portman (R-Ohio)
The news brought further outcry. Richards, for her part, tweeted, "When women aren't at the table, we're on the menu."
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) accused his colleagues of being "gutless":
Others piled on:
Andrea Germanos
Andrea Germanos is a senior editor and staff writer at Common Dreams.
Deirdre Fulton
Deirdre Fulton is a former Common Dreams senior editor and staff writer. Previously she worked as an editor and writer for the Portland Phoenix and the Boston Phoenix, where she was honored by the New England Press Association and the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. A Boston University graduate, Deirdre is a co-founder of the Maine-based Lorem Ipsum Theater Collective and the PortFringe theater festival. She writes young adult fiction in her spare time.
With House Republicans having voted to pass the "astonishingly evil" American Healthcare Act (AHCA), the Senate GOP has assembled a group to craft that chamber's version of the bill known as Trumpcare--and its made up of all men.
While Trumpcare would take health insurance away from tens of millions of Americans and raises costs for people nationwide, it has become clear that the Republican healthcare bill passed in the U.S. House Thursday is nothing less than what one advocacy group explicitly called "a declaration of war on women."
From eliminating the requirement that all healthcare plans cover maternity care; to allowing insurers to once again charge people more for "pre-existing conditions" including sexual assault and postpartum depression; to defunding Planned Parenthood; to further restricting abortion care, "Trump's plan is dangerous for women's health and our ability to make decisions about our futures and our families," said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights.
"This government is very deliberately laying the groundwork for conditions that will harm women--in fact, everyone who is not rich, white, and male," said Janette Robinson-Flint, executive director of Black Women for Wellness. "Shame on those selfish men."
Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, called it "the worst bill for women's health in a generation."
Now, adding insult to injury, sources report Friday that the senators who are working on their chamber's version of the legislation are a bunch of...men. Almost all white men, at that.
According to Dylan Scott of Vox and other reporters, the 13 senators named to the healthcare bill working group are:
- Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
- Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)
- Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)
- Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.)
- John Thune (R-S.D.)
- Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
- Mike Lee (R-Utah)
- Tom Cotton (R-Ark.)
- Cory Gardner (R-Colo.)
- John Barrasso (R-Wyo.)
- John Cornyn (R-Texas)
- Rob Portman (R-Ohio)
The news brought further outcry. Richards, for her part, tweeted, "When women aren't at the table, we're on the menu."
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) accused his colleagues of being "gutless":
Others piled on:
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