“Pro-life” lawmakers have targeted Native women in their latest anti-choice bill — led this time by prostitute-hiring family warrior David Vitter.
The controversy swirls around a federal law—known as the Hyde amendment—that prohibits abortion coverage under Medicaid, Medicare and Indian Health Service programs. While the Hyde law must be renewed by Congress each year, the Vitter amendment—which the Senate approved on Feb. 26—would apply Hyde’s restrictions permanently to IHS beneficiaries. For that reason, tribal health advocates charge that the Vitter language treads on the sovereignty of Indian communities and places unique constraints on native women.
“It’s a very racist amendment,” said Charon Asetoyer, executive director of the Native American Women’s Health Education Resource Center, “[because] it puts another layer of restrictions on the only race of people whose health care is governed primarily by the federal government. All women are subject to the Hyde amendment, so why would they put another set of conditions on us?”
I’m pretty sure she already knows the answer to that: Because Native women are easy targets.
Do read the whole article — it does a great job of detailing why this is important, and explains how Native women are sexually victimized at extremely high rates.
But it’s not only Republicans who are going after Native womens’ rights. Several Democratic senators voted to pass the bill, including Sens. Ken Salazar (Col.), Evan Bayh (Ind.), Robert Byrd (W.Va.), Robert Casey (Pa.), Tim Johnson (S.D.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Ben Nelson (Neb.), Mark Pryor (Ark.) and Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.).
If any of those senators represent you, consider writing a letter to let them know that attacking Native womens’ access to health care is not a Democratic value.