Mass. Senate Candidate Pagliuca Made Right Choice In Determining Health Reform Trumps Choice, Opinion Piece Says

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance;  Breast Cancer;  Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine
Article Date: 24 Nov 2009 - 2:00 PST

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions

Steve Pagliuca, a candidate in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), "made the boldest move yet" in the race when he recently used health care reform "to try to set himself apart from his principal rivals," Boston Globe columnist Steve Lehigh writes. According to Lehigh, Pagliuca "insists" that the "goal of universal health care ... is too important to let a bill die, even if it includes sweeping restrictions on insurance coverage for abortion." At a press conference on Thursday, Pagliuca said, "While I disagree with [the] Stupak-Pitts [amendment], I do not believe that this language or a similar provision should stop the passage of health care reform," adding, "This represents a fundamental disagreement between two of my opponents and me."

Pagliuca's opponents include Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (D) and Alan Khazei, co-founder of City Year. Lehigh writes that Coakley, the "presumptive front-runner," on Thursday "reaffirmed that she would vote against a bill that included the abortion stipulation." Meanwhile, Capuano -- who voted for the House bill (HR 3962) with the amendment and recently received the endorsement of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) -- "has since said that he would not support a final bill with the same language," Lehigh says.

Lehigh writes that Pagliuca has said that the "pressing need to bring coverage to the uninsured outweighs the abortion issue" and "noted that many deaths from breast and cervical cancer could be prevented if more women had the access to routine preventive care that would come with health coverage." According to Lehigh, the differing opinions between Pagliuca, Coakley and Capuano "give voters a clear sense of the candidates' priorities." He adds that he thinks Pagliuca "made the right determination," concluding that the candidate "bet his senatorial ambitions on the hope that a plurality of Democratic voters will agree" (Lehigh, Boston Globe, 11/20).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.