This subject was diaried last night but did not get as much traction:
Breaking: Bernie is More Pro-Choice Than HIllary! By HonorFredHampton
In comments of that diary, Praxxus points to where Hillary supported what she referred to as ‘Constitutional action’ to limit access to abortion.
That’s her exact position she's stating. For once, she wasn’t pandering to her audience.www.realclearpolitics.com/...
Hillary Clinton: I Could Compromise on Abortion If It Included Exceptions For Mother's Health
The link in Praxxus’ comment goes to this Real Clear Politics piece from September 2015 Hillary Clinton: I Could Compromise on Abortion If It Included Exceptions For Mother's Health which includes a video which will not embed here — it’s an excerpt from an interview which begins mid-sentence:
...by doctors that the child they’re carrying will not survive. And so, you know, again, I am where I have been, which is that, you know, if there is a way to structure some kind of Constitutional restrictions that takes into account the life of the mother and her health, then I am open to that. But I have yet to see the Republicans willing to actually do that. And that would be an area, uh, where if they included health, you could see Constitutional action.
It also includes the following text:
HILLARY CLINTON: My husband vetoed a very restrictive legislation on late-term abortions and he vetoed it at an event in the White House where we invited a lot of women who had faced this very difficult decision, that ought to be made based on their own conscience, their family, their faith, in consultation with doctors. Those stories left a searing impression on me. Women who think their pregnancy is going well and then wake up and find some really terrible problem. Women whose life is threatened if they carry their child to term, and women who are told by doctors that the child they're carrying will not survive.
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Lysis covered this subject from the Fox Town Hall today including the transcript of the full comment on abortion (this except is copied from the Lysis diary):
I have been on record in favor of a late pregnancy regulation that would have exceptions for the life and health of the mother.
I object to the recent effort in Congress to pass a law saying after 20 weeks, you know, no such exceptions, because although these are rare, Bret, they sometimes arise in the most complex, difficult medical situation.
And so I think it is -- under Roe v. Wade, it is appropriate to say, in these circumstances, so long as there's an exception for the life and health of the mother.
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I can only assume that Cecile Richards and Planned Parenthood are ok with Clinton’s stance since although unknown to me until I watched the Fox Town Hall, this is not a ‘new’ position by Clinton. I have not seen any mention of this position by Planned Parenthood.
The Planned Parenthood Action Fund endorsement can be seen on C-Span here: www.c-span.org/…The introduction in the voice over indicates this is the first time Planned Parenthood has endorsed during the presidential primary. As part of her introduction of Clinton, Richards states, “we will never go back.” I have been unable to learn if Planned Parenthood has a comment about Secretary Clinton’s reiteration last night of her support of restrictions on access to abortion, but others may wish to see if they can get through on the media line: 212-261-4433.
Edit: From the C-Span video linked above (and fairly close language from the Fox News Town Hall) Clinton 56:00: “I believe we need to protect access to safe and legal abortion, not just in principle but in practice. Any right that requires you to take extraordinary measures to access it is no right at all.” As I have expressed in comments, it appears that Clinton supports narrowing the current rights a woman has to make decisions with her medical providers — drawing the line earlier in time means that women, doctors and advocates will surely need to take additional extraordinary measures.
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By contrast, here is how CBS news reported Bernie Sanders’ responses to questions on abortion:
Asked generally whether abortion should ever be illegal, Sen. Bernie Sanders said, "I happen to believe that it is wrong for the government to be telling a woman what to be doing with her own body."
He chided Republicans who broadly oppose government interference in people's personal lives, "but somehow on this issue they want to tell every woman in America what she should do with her body."
Asked more specifically if he would support restrictions on abortions for pregnancies farther along than five months, Sanders simply responded, "I am very strongly pro-choice. That is a choice to be made between a woman, her physician and her family."
Who Seeks Abortions After 20 Weeks? — Alan Guttmacher Institute
Results: Women aged 20–24 were more likely than those aged 25–34 to have a later abortion (odds ratio, 2.7), and women who discovered their pregnancy before eight weeks’ gestation were less likely than others to do so (0.1). Later abortion recipients experienced logistical delays (e.g., difficulty finding a provider and raising funds for the procedure and travel costs), which compounded other delays in receiving care. Most women seeking later abortion fit at least one of five profiles: They were raising children alone, were depressed or using illicit substances, were in conflict with a male partner or experiencing domestic violence, had trouble deciding and then had access problems, or were young and nulliparous.
www.guttmacher.org/… p. 14
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Disclosure: In the 1990’s, with my doctors’ permission and great care, I attempted a high-risk pregnancy. My health insurance company denied access to tools my obstetrician prescribed, first claiming they didn’t know if I would become pregnant (which I did in my first month of trying) and later without explanation. My doctors and I used the best possible work-arounds given that my insurance was denying me access to a device which the plan did not exclude from coverage. Eventually, my insurance company authorized a company unfamiliar with the device I needed to modify a similar device for the use I needed, although in other circumstances they covered a device for the specific device I needed provided by a company which worked with expectant moms (and was also a company my OB/GYN trusted because they had successfully worked with many of his patients). The company my insurance ultimately contracted with was an upstart attempting to branch into new services which had previously botched at least a couple deliveries to me.
My insurance coverage was through my place of employment, so ERISA laws protect insurance companies from being held accountable should their actions impact health or even life.
When my health situation began to become critical, my doctors suggested we consider terminating the pregnancy. Before the scheduled discussion was to take place, I miscarried and nearly died in the aftermath of that event.
I am on record on this site as a staunch Sanders’ supporter, but this particular issue is very close to my heart with respect to my experience. Mine was a VERY wanted pregnancy — it was my one and only chance of producing a child myself. I was foiled in that effort, and I understand that my circumstances were NOT the in the time frame of late-term abortion. But I began my pregnancy knowing that there was a substantial chance I would not successfully complete my pregnancy, and I knew that I might need to make a choice to cut it short. In the end, I was spared that choice.
I will tell you this: having my insurance company interject itself between me and my doctors was an enormous disservice which very nearly cost me my life. Having a court of law do the same thing could be just as disastrous.
IF THE LAW CHANGES TO RESTRICT ACCESS TO LATE-TERM ABORTION, it will be women who are in similar circumstances to mine who will be impacted. While I have not personally polled women who seek abortions late in their pregnancies, I am confident that these decisions are excruciating and are not made lightly. If a woman requires a court to determine whether or not her life or health is sufficiently impacted in order to obtain the medical procedure she needs, she may lose her health or life while she waits for the appropriate person/body to issue its ruling.
I have said previously and I will say again that I see Bernie Sanders as the stronger feminist of the two Democratic candidates for president because he takes a stronger stand for women’s rights.