Senators Clinton and Murray take on the HHS Department

Yesterday, folks woke up to the new assault on birth control.  Shero’s Senator Clinton and Patty Murray are on top of this.   Both penis-impaired presidential candidates remain silent.   The is especially appalling because ONE of them was endorsed by NARAL.

From our Sheros:

“It is outrageous that the Bush administration is once again putting ideology over women’s health. Instead of undercutting access to contraception and family planning services, the Bush Administration should put prevention first,” said Senator Clinton.

“On the first day of his administration, the President reinstated the Mexico City global gag clause, a harsh, anti-family planning policy that hurt the world’s poorest women and children. Now, on his way out the door it appears that he is trying to limit women’s health care options here at home,” Murray said. “This misguided attempt to restrict health care services and limit access to contraceptives defeats our common goal of reducing the number of abortions in this country.”

Additionally, both Senators sent a joint letter to the Secretary that heads  the Health and Human Services Department:

Secretary Michael O. Leavitt
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201

Dear Mr. Secretary:

It has come to our attention that the Department of Health and Human Services may be preparing draft regulations that would create new obstacles for women seeking contraceptive services.

One of the most troubling aspects of the proposed rules is the overly-broad definition of “abortion.” This definition would allow health-care corporations or individuals to classify many common forms of contraception – including the birth control pill, emergency contraception and IUDs – “abortions” and therefore to refuse to provide contraception to women who need it.

As a consequence, these draft regulations could disrupt state laws securing women’s access to birth control. They could jeopardize federal programs like Medicaid and Title X that provide family-planning services to millions of women. They could even undermine state laws that ensure survivors of sexual assault and rape receive emergency contraception in hospital emergency rooms.

We strongly urge you to reconsider these regulations before they are released. We are extremely concerned by this proposal’s potential to affect millions of women’s reproductive health.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely yours,
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Senator Patty Murray

If Obama is serious about getting women’s votes, then he needs to get serious about standing up for women’s rights.  Where is the voice of the presumed democratic candidate for president on this issue?  It’s time for all women to get behind the movement to stop Obama’s  throne grab in Denver.