For a PDF version of the letter see below.
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Dear Member of Congress:
The undersigned organizations, representing millions of health care consumers, patients and providers, strongly supported passage of the Affordable Care Act and are working to protect the Act from efforts in Congress to undermine or repeal it. To that end, we are writing to urge you to oppose the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 3) and the Protect Life Act (H.R. 358), part of a concerted strategy tore-open the compromise on abortion that paved the way for the law’s passage and undermine support for this landmark law.
Rekindling the debate over abortion coverage is part of a concerted effort to erode support for the law. In a recent interview, Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton stated that the House willconsider several changes to the Affordable Care Act, including attacks on funding, the personal responsibility provision, and the abortion provision, all as part of the strategic effort by members opposed to the bill to “see if we can't have the thing crumble.”
Moreover, H.R. 3 and H.R. 358 revive the rejected Stupak Amendment and re-open the abortion compromise that prevented federal funds from being used to pay for abortion in the Exchanges. This compromise, opposed by individuals and organizations on both sides of the abortion debate, helped to secure the votes needed for passage. Reopening this compromise threatens to undermine Congressional support for this law at a time when it is critical that those who support it stand together to protect it.
A core premise of the Affordable Care Act remains that if you like the coverage you have – you can keep it; something ACA opponents have bitterly challenged. And yet, by threatening to take away health coverage women already have, both these bills would undo that most basic premise. Furthermore, H.R. 3 would raise taxes on some employers and individuals based on the content of what their health insurance plans covered.
Finally, these bills simply provide an opportunity for Members of Congress seeking the repeal of the Affordable Care Act to perpetuate the falsehood that the Act allows federal funds to be used for abortion. Independent analyses, as well as the bill itself, state clearly that this is not the case. Members of Congress who support H.R. 3 and H.R. 358 continue to state—falsely—that the Affordable Care Act allows federal funds to be used for abortion, and use this false claim in a misguided effort to undermine support for the new health care law.
We urge you to continue to support for the compromise that made passage of the Affordable Care Actpossible, to reject efforts to revive this unnecessary and counterproductive debate, and to oppose these harmful bills.
Sincerely,
Action United
African Rights Activists Group
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
American Medical Student Association
American Nurses Association
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
California Partnership
Campaign for America’s Future
Campaign for Better Health Care (IL)
Campaign for Community Change
Center for American Progress Action Fund
Children's Defense Fund-NY
Citizen Action of New York
Citizen Action of Illinois
Community Catalyst
Connecticut Citizen Action Group
Detroit Black Nurses Association
Families USA
Georgia Rural Urban Summit
Greater New York City for Change
Health Access California
Health Care for America Now (HCAN)
The Hemophilia Association of New York, Inc.
Human Rights Campaign
Metro NY Healthcare for All
Michigan Citizen Action
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund
National Association of Social Workers, West Virginia Chapter
National Physicians Alliance
New Yorkers for Accessible Health Coverage
North Carolina Fair Share
Ocean State Action (RI)
Organize Now (FL)
Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI)
Penn ACTION
Prairie State Medical Society
Progress Florida
Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada
ProgressNow Nevada
ProgressOhio
Rekindling Reform
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
United Steelworkers Local 960 (Peoria, IL)
Universal Healthcare Action Network (UHCAN)
USAction
UU Fellowship of Northern Nevada
Virginia Organizing
Washington Community Action Network
West Virginia Citizen Action Group
Young Invincibles
