Chipping Away at Abortion Rights

by Brian Simmonds, Sr. Editor-at-Large
Congress passed a controversial anti-abortion measure as a part of an omnibus spending package Sunday. The provision prohibits federal, state, and local governments from requiring health insurance companies, hospitals, or other "health care entities" to provide abortion services or referrals. (The text of the law can be read here.)
NARAL Pro-Choice America denounced the rider as "an outrageous back-room maneuver." The American Civil Liberties Union contended that "the measure could permit family-planning clinics funded with taxpayer dollars to refuse even to provide referrals to women who ask about abortion--information now required by law."
According to the Los Angeles Times, the legislative maneuver was long planned. The New York Times argued that the measure's passage "may be an early indication of the growing political muscle of social conservatives." The Los Angeles Times echoed that sentiment, noting that the majority is "acting as if [the elections] were carried by a conservative landslide."