“Wait,” you may be saying, “I thought the headline I saw in the New York Times was, ‘House Votes to Limit Access to Abortion.'” See, that was very polite, downright obedient, of the NYT to write that headline, but that’s not exactly what the bill, which passed 251-175, says. (The number of the people who voted yea is higher than the number of Republicans in the House, so at least a few Democrats voted for this too, by the way.)
The text of the bill is clearer, and clarifies that the House named the bill “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” but more specifically denies anyone federal funding or tax-credits for health insurance plans that provide coverage for abortion. So this is much more invasive than denying “taxpayer funding for abortion,” and places limits on people who would never have been in a position to seek abortion services, if their insurance plan could have covered it.
That’s the party of small government in my country, making sure that, for example, a fifty-year-old man who works in public service and whose family health insurance plan covered abortion has to seek a new policy. Fortunately for insurance companies, the legislation helpfully suggests that insurance plans could charge a whole new premium for separate abortion coverage! Thanks, guys!
Feminist Philosophers 
Gah.
Wow. That’s appalling. And really, really sneaky. That actually does make me sick to my stomach.
The horror.
Thanks for reminding me of what’s to come with our newly elected Reformers. I’m afraid. Very very afraid. Unlike the Americans, Child Protection Agencies in several Canadian provinces have nearly as much power against poor unwed mothers as the Gestapo. In a few years, they won’t just be forcing some women (about 10% here in Ontario, 80% of them being wrongfully harassed–I hear Albertans have it even worse) to give up their children for no good reason, they’ll be forcing women to give birth to unwanted children AND THEN pawning them off on our overcrowded and underfunded Child Protection system.
Our Reformers’ stance on poverty, abortion and ‘Law&Order’ is a not-nearly-as-well-covered-up replica of what American politicians are doing.
Harper’s rhetoric on dismantling our ‘European welfare state of the worst sort’:
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/SpecialEvent7/20051213/elxn_harper_speech_text_051214
Where we all know Harper’s misogyny and classism will take us:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/relationships/news-and-views/judithtimson/why-should-women-believe-what-stephen-harper-says-about-abortion/article2002319
Stories like this one turn my stomach, too, Heg, Profbigk.