The GOP Tax Bill Violates Reproductive Rights

Today House and Senate Republicans passed a widely unpopular tax bill, sending it to President Trump’s desk to be signed. Though you might not guess it, this bill will directly impact people’s access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services. 

Republicans are using tax reform as an opportunity to rollback important components of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) after several unsuccessful attempts to repeal the bill entirely. One major feature of the ACA is its individual health insurance mandate, which penalizes people who are not insured through their employers or through the insurance marketplace. While the penalty may seem unfair, it ensures that as many people as possible enroll in health insurance, making insurance more affordable for everyone. When the individual mandate is repealed, insurance premiums will rise, and low-income individuals will likely be unable to afford their own insurance plans.

Without this mandate, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that within 10 years approximately 13 million people will be without health insurance. Since the implementation of the ACA, 9.5 million women gained coverage and the proportion of insured Black, Latinx and low-income individuals increased.

Originally the tax bill included anti-abortion personhood language presuming the legal rights of a fetus in order to criminalize abortion. Fortunately, this language was removed due to the Byrd rule, which requires vetting of every policy to ensure its alignment with the federal budget — defining an unborn child’s education rights in a tax reform bill is irrelevant. This language is no longer included, but the bill still takes aim at marginalized people’s access to the health services they need.

While healthcare centers like Planned Parenthood can provide more affordable services regardless of age, gender, immigration status, or insurance coverage, sliding-scale clinics are still burdensome and people in conservative and rural communities face barriers even getting to their nearest clinic. High costs limit people’s reproductive choices and deter others from seeking out services at all. As an example, without insurance, an IUD can cost up to $900 plus $250 for the medical procedural fee.

This bill is an attack on the health and safety of low-income and marginalized people. Republicans are legislating deep cuts into our social safety nets. We need to identify other ways to defend our rights: we must take care of one another.

Header image credit: Getty Images via The Guardian

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