Played
by digby
If anyone doubts that the Hyde Amendment will be codified and expanded, all you have to do is listen to pro-choice Democratic Rep Nita Lowey saying "no federal funding for abortion!" over and over again on Cenk Uyger's show today and watch her assure the audience that they will do everything they can to block "that portion of the bill" which says that hospitals can allow women to die rather perform an abortion to save their lives. If those are the terms, then Democrats have already lost and what amounts to the Stupak Amendment will likely become law.
No bill should even come to the floor of the Senate. But with staunch pro-choicers like Lowey repeating the wingnut mantra "no federal funding for abortions" like a parrot, I think there's a fairly good chance that the House will pass a bill that quite a few Democratic Senators will jump to vote for since all the "bad things" have been taken out. All it will say is that "no federal funds will pay for abortion" --- effectively ending abortion as an insurable procedure. But hey, why not? Everyone agrees on that apparently. It was just the rape and death provisions that were objectionable and we pro-choice advocates fought for women and made sure they were taken out. Hurrah for us.
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