Dear Supporter, They're back, we're back, and (hopefully) you're back too. I'm talking about Congress, me, and you — and I'm talking about health care reform. It's been a raucous summer, and with Congress back in session and President Obama set to make a major speech on health care tonight, you can bet things are about to get louder. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, my colleague here at the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Vice President of Public Policy and Advocacy Laurie Rubiner, blogged her thoughts about where we are in health care reform. I think her comments are really worth sharing with you. And, of course, your help in the weeks ahead will be necessary, starting now.

Tell Congress that you won't support health care reform that leaves women worse off than they are now. Spread the word to friends and family. Join a Rapid Response Team and take a leading role in securing health care reform.

Thanks, as always. Cecile Richards, President Planned Parenthood Action Fund

Bridging the Divide on Health Care for Women Thu Sep 03, 2009 at 11:34:37 AM PDT Nothing like an effort to make health insurance more affordable and available to all Americans to bring out the conspiracy theorists. Among my "favorite" whoppers: (1) Grandma is going to go before a government death panel; (2) According to a recent Republican National Committee mailer, the Democratic government is going to check your political party registration, and if you're a Republican you'll be denied health care; (3) Catholic bishops are persuading their parishioners that health care reform will mean that every single American is going to have to pay for their neighbors' abortion. With all this hyperbole, we have lost sight of the original goal of health reform: to expand access to health care, improve quality, and reduce costs — not to litigate abortion rights, no matter how much anti-choice groups may want to use it for that purpose. And Planned Parenthood knows firsthand that women in particular need access to more health care, better quality health care, and more affordable health care. After all, women are affected far more than men by the costs of our health care system — they pay more for health care, use the health care system more, and make the health care decisions for their families. Abortion is a legal medical procedure in this country, and therefore Planned Parenthood believes it should be part of the health care system. That said, we acknowledge that there are some compromises that need to be made to move health care reform forward. For many years there has been a ban on the use of federal funds to pay for abortions. While we vehemently disagree with this policy because it denies care to the lowest-income women who need affordable health care access, we understand that this is the law of the land and until we have the political ability to change it, we have to compromise. We are willing to do that if it means more women can access the affordable, quality health care they deserve. But fair compromise is not enough for opponents of women's health. They insist that, if there is a public option, there be a strict and total ban on abortion coverage. To illustrate why this is ridiculous, imagine if we went down the road of individuals being able to dictate which health care services their private insurer offers other customers, of every individual being able to tell their employer that they don't want their premiums going toward individuals or health care they object to — gays and lesbians, obesity, smoking...you name it. Insurance would be discriminatory and simply unworkable. I am trying really hard to understand what it is anti-choice hard-liners want, other than to simply kill health care reform. I wish someone would explain to me where their middle ground really is, and stop shifting it every time I think I'm standing still. I really want to understand what they want for the women we serve everyday at Planned Parenthood — because our more than 850 health centers provide care every year to more than three million people, most of whom are below 150 percent of the poverty line. As a matter of fact, more than 90 percent of it is preventive and primary care. I truly believe that if we share the goal of expanding access to affordable, quality health care, then we should find a way to make that goal a reality. Planned Parenthood is at the table ready to work, and we invite others to join us so that America can stop suffering under a broken health care system and start benefiting from the health care options we deserve. Laurie Rubiner is vice president of public policy and advocacy at the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Read her entire post here.