County residents debate public abortion funding

Orange County residents are worried about the effects of an abortion provision in the health care reform bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month.

The Stupak amendment would prevent the use of federal money for abortion services.

Since the bill was passed, debate about whether it should provide financial aid for abortion coverage has intensified.

Some Chapel Hill residents said they think the amendment might take away the rights women have to control their own bodies, while others say it would be wrong to have taxpayers pay for something they don’t support.

Don Akin, a statistician for the N.C. State Center for Health Statistics, said in Orange County 390 women out of 1,000 obtained an abortion in 2008.

Alison Kiser, field manager of the Chapel Hill office of Planned Parenthood for Central North Carolina, said 80 percent of private insurance plans cover abortion.

Kiser said the Stupak amendment would change this.

If women bought their own health insurance through the options the government provides, the amendment would not allow them to choose a plan that covered abortion, she said.

“Women who pay for their own health insurance themselves could lose benefits, which is something Obama promised would not happen under health care reform,” she said. “Their rights and choices should not be used as a political bargaining piece.”

The amendment states women can buy a supplemental policy for abortion coverage.

Junior Lee Storrow, co-chairman of the University’s Voices for Planned Parenthood chapter, said that option is unrealistic because pregnancy can be unexpected.

Storrow said if the amendment passes as is, people might resort to unsafe procedures.

The supplemental policy might also affect those unable to afford an abortion on their own, Kiser said.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice research institute, 57 percent of women in North Carolina who receive abortions are economically disadvantaged.

Kiser said because women sometimes find the costs of abortion prohibitive, the procedure should be accessible to all who need it.

But Stephanie Mercer, co-president of Carolina Students for Life, said the public should not have to pay for one person’s decision.

“If the Stupak amendment was not included in the Health Reform Bill, it would force taxpayers to support killing another human being,” she said.

Mercer said other legal options like adoption would keep the number of unsafe procedures from increasing, especially for college students in Orange County.

Erica Scott, Civic Engagement Coordinator of NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina, said she expects 85 percent of women to lose abortion coverage and those with private plans won’t be able to find coverage.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.