Insisting that her opinion was not influenced by her views on
abortion, MSNBC's Dr. Nancy Snyderman went on a tear shortly after
12:30 p.m. EST on her November 9 "Dr. Nancy" program, denouncing the
"infuriating" Stupak Amendment to the Democratic health care bill
passed on Saturday.
That amendment, named for pro-life Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak (D) [1] would bar private insurance plans sold in the bill's publicly-subsidized insurance exchange from covering abortion. [audio available here [2]]
As a consequence, women seeking to have insurance pay for abortion
procedures under the would need to pay out-of-pocket for additional
coverage for abortion procedures.
Snyderman hinted that she was annoyed that pro-life Democrats even
thought it necessary to press for the Stupak Amendment in the first
place. After all, Snyderman complained to MSNBC correspondent Kelly
O'Donnell, she and her colleagues at MSNBC had done their level best
for months to calm fears of pro-lifers about ObamaCare:
I must admit this one caught me by surprise. I thought the public option was going to be the real rallying cry for Saturday. Because the Hyde Amendment is in place, over the summer we kept saying there will be no federal money spent on abortions and then the Stupak Amendment came in, really tightening the chance for a woman's right to choose. Clarify for me.
After O'Donnell explained the impact of the Stupak Amendment, Snyderman resumed her rant and concluded the segment:
Kelly, you know what I find so infuriating about this? I mean, absolutely infuriating. And this isn't about being pro-choice or pro-abortion, or any of the hot-butto lingo. We know women pay more for insurance than men. We know women are restricted in many states. And now it's basically, if you're a 50-year-old woman and you're in a monogamous relationship, you suddenly find yourself pregnant, you'd better know that you have an abortion rider in order to access health care that you thought you had, it is one more pressure on women. I'm surprised that frankly, that there isn't more outrage over fact that, this isn't fair!
[...]
A white man deciding a woman's responsibility in her own procreation. I mean, I find it infuriating. I mean, I really think it doesn't matter what side of the abortion issue or pro-choice issue you're on, the fact that you're making health care harder and harder for women to navigate the system. I think it's outrageous, just outrageous. Kelly O'Donnell, thank you, so much.
And folks it's not about abortion. It really is about one more burden for women navigating the health care system. Before I blow my top, time to turn to Monica Novotny at the news desk.
Monica, get me outta here.
- Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of the MRC's NewsBusters blog.