We are AFSCME members and supporters who are angry that the House of Representatives passed a bill that would make women worse off under health care reform than they are today. Our union has fought so hard for health care reform that will benefit our members, our families, and our communities, and we cannot allow the restrictions on access to women’s reproductive care that have been included in the House bill. We will not stand for this radical departure from the status quo and we ask that you stand with us. Why 1. AFSCME has historically taken a stand on women’s reproductive choice (see AFSCME endorsing the "March for Freedom of Choice" in 2004: http://www.afscme.org/issues/7417.cfm) and should continue this brave tradition now by opposing the Stupak-Pitts amendment. 2. We have fought too hard at the bargaining table for the health coverage we currently have (more than 85 percent of private insurance plans today cover reproductive choice services) and won contracts for benefits fair and square. We can’t allow Congress to take that all away from us with the swipe of their pen. 3. We need to be clear that women are not second-class citizens, and that our right to safe reproductive care starts with our benefits. As a union whose membership is a majority female, we must stand up for our union sisters (and all women in America) and demand that we have national health care coverage that covers all of our medical needs, not just some. AFSCME needs to ensure that lawmakers support health care reform that protects women's access to reproductive care as the next round of debate and voting occurs in the Senate. Our elected representatives in the House let us down when they passed a health care reform bill that will undercut women's access to comprehensive health care. We can't let it happen in the Senate, and implore AFSCME to lobby the Senate and President Obama to pass comprehensive health care reform that does NOT include the Stupak-Pitts amendment or any similar language. Please join us and our AFSCME sisters and brothers to stand strong in protection of women's reproductive rights today and every single day until reform is passed. [NOTE: If you are an AFSCME member signing this, you can include your local # in the comments field]

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