NCJW Disappointed by Abortion Funding Restrictions in 2010 Federal Budget
May 12, 2009, Washington, DC -- The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) today expressed its regret that the fiscal year 2010 federal budget contains almost all the restrictions on federal funding for abortions that have prevented access for millions of women in need of this service for several decades. NCJW President Nancy Ratzan issued the following statement:
"NCJW is greatly disappointed that President Obama chose to allow restrictions on abortions to remain in the federal budget for fiscal year 2010. The restrictions, which have been added over the years since Roe v. Wade, bar women serving in the armed forces, women enrolled in Medicaid, Peace Corps volunteers, Native American women, women in federal prisons, and federal employees from receiving abortion services funded by the federal government directly or even indirectly through private insurance.
"This refusal to cover the full range of reproductive health care options compromises the abortion rights of millions of women. It creates a two-tiered system of health care in which women who rely on the federal government for health care are denied access to abortion while other women are not. Especially at a time when many women are in dire financial straits, denying coverage for abortion means that these women, as a practical matter, cannot exercise their freedom of conscience to make abortion decisions in accordance with their own religious and moral beliefs, free from government intervention.
"The administration’s budget would, however, end restrictions on the District of Columbia that now bar the city from spending its own locally raised tax money for abortions, which is laudable. But at a time when more than three-fifths of all Americans support Roe v. Wade, the federal government must begin treating abortion services the same way it treats all other necessary medical care—by paying for it on an equitable basis."
The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is a grassroots organization of volunteers and advocates who turn progressive ideals into action. Inspired by Jewish values, NCJW strives for social justice by improving the quality of life for women, children, and families and by safeguarding individual rights and freedoms.
Contact:
Emily Alfano
202 296 2588 x5; emily@ncjwdc.org