July 9
Blog of Rights: Official Blog of the American Civil Liberties Union » 25 Percent Would If They Could
Twenty-five. That’s the percent of women who say they would’ve obtained a Medicaid-funded abortion if they had the option, but instead carried their pregnancies to term. According to a new Guttmacher report released yesterday, many of these women are forced to forgo an abortion because they lack personal funds to pay for the procedure.
Only 17 states use their own money to pay for all or most medically necessary abortions. That means that only 17 states will help a woman obtain an abortion when her health is in danger. So, that 25 percent includes women with cancer, diabetes, heart conditions, or whose pregnancies otherwise threaten their health who are nonetheless forced to carry their pregnancies to term because they are not deemed likely enough to die from their pregnancies for the government to pay for an abortion.
Guttmacher’s new report, “Restrictions on Medicaid Funding for Abortions: A Literature Review,” also found that Medicaid funding restrictions delay some women’s abortions by two to three weeks, as the women scrounge up the funds necessary for the procedure. Delaying an abortion can both increase the cost of the procedure and the risks. Moreover, when Medicaid will not pay for a low-income woman’s abortion, she is often forced to divert money that would otherwise be used to pay for regular expenses, like rent, utility bills, food, and clothing for herself and her children.
The bottom line is that the government uses abortion funding restrictions to coerce poor women into carrying their pregnancies to term.
SEE WHAT I MEAN.
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isabelthespy
reblogged this from
abbyjean
and added:
oh my fucking god, i knew this happened...this is way more common than i would have...
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artislovely liked this
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amandaw liked this
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bthny
reblogged this from
abbyjean
and added:
SEE WHAT I MEAN.
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abbyjean
posted this
