Stupak says

[busymom]

No funds authorized or appropriated by the Act (or amendment made by this Act) may be used to pay for any abortion or to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion, except in the case where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, physical injury, or physical illness that would, as certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, or unless the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or incest.

Here are my questions on how we will legislate this:

1. Will a woman have to prove she has been raped or can she just claim it? If she does claim it, does the rapist have to be caught and tried in order for it to be acceptable that she have an abortion paid for with these funds? Or..will a judge just get to make the decision? Will the judge base his verdict on his personal bias towards abortion or whether or not HE or SHE believes the claimant? Will we just have a lot of women claiming rape that weren't raped?

2. What physician would make the case for abortion in the case of medical need and how exactly would that medical need be defined? When I was pregnant with cancer I was given the option of abortion, but it wasn't medically necessary. The pregnancy carried higher risks for myself and the baby, but a lot of pregnancies with other issues do. What is our threshold for risk here? Who gets to decide what is a danger to the woman? What if it is a pro-life physician who doesn't believe that pregnancy may place a woman in danger in the case of certain mental illnesses (for example).

Will a list be provided of what exactly constitutes a risk to the woman or places her in danger of death unless the abortion is performed? Who gets to have a say in this list? If cancer during pregnancy doesn't constitute danger of death, what does?


I have to be honest. I'm not a big proponent of abortion. I personally feel that it should be done in fewer instances than it currently is...but my personal feelings are my own and I don't think that I have the right to dictate someone else's choices.