Dear fellow gay men:
Today the Texas House passed HB 214, a bill that
prohibits health insurance paying for most abortions, requiring people
to carry additional insurance (which Rep. Moody coined "rape insurance")
ahead of time or pay for abortions out of pocket. Why should you care?
Well, for one because it's an attack on the rights of other people, but
for two because the rational used to support the bill is that some
people feel that paying into an insurance risk pool that
might then pay for abortion violates their religion and, it was argued,
forcing people to carry "rape insurance" will encourage them to "be
more responsible." Now imagine how those same people who don't want to
pay into insurance pools that pay for abortion feel about PrEP, or about
HIV meds. Imagine how they feel about using surrogate mothers to grow
your family. Imagine how they feel about supplemental insurance that
covers spousal bereavement or care for same-sex couples... Right now
uterus-having folk are on the front-line of a battle to reshape
healthcare as a tool of right wing policy and everything we've fought
for for the last 48 years is at risk. Speak up! Call your state
representative and senator and tell them what you think.
