After the final nail was hammered in the coffin of the zombie-like Republican healthcare bill in the Senate, President Trump suggested that his party wait out the collapse of the federal insurance market, repeal the Affordable Care Act in the meantime, and eventually introduce a new plan “that will start from a clean slate.”
The Trump administration and the GOP’s recent spiteful suggestions to allow, even will, the ACA market to fail shows the complete disdain and lack of empathy the president and our well-off senators have for the people they represent and their health. It is abundantly clear that conservative white male senators are out of touch and disconnected from needs of their constituents.
{mosads}A June Kaiser Health tracking poll revealed that more than half of the public favor the law. Despite that, these men who claim to be looking out for the average person are obviously only vested in their own interests.
It is Republican women — Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) — who are standing against the agenda of their party to defend us.
Conveniently, none of these women were included in the drafting of the Senate’s bill. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his cronies were sure to keep women and people of color out of the room when senators devised their replacement bill.
But these women are standing for all women — and men — in their refusal to vote for a repeal of the ACA that would strip healthcare coverage from 32 million people. The president and his supporters in Congress remain unconcerned about the devastating consequences a straight repeal would have, especially on the women of this country. The sexist divide of political interests across the aisle demonstrates a shocking disregard for reproductive health concerns.
It’s important to call out what’s really going on: The animosity for the ACA is fueled by blatant sexism and racism. The targeting of our first black president’s signature and historical policy is not accidental. Trump will stop at nothing in order to make his false campaign mantra that “ObamaCare is failing” a reality.
Our most vulnerable citizens will be hit the hardest by this immature legislative temper tantrum, specifically impoverished women and women of color. We need to hold our lawmakers accountable for their decisions that disrupt our health. The purpose of government is to protect and serve its constituents. Some Republican lawmakers are content to sign our death sentences to satisfy their demented desire to dismantle the legacy of our first black president.
Make no mistake; if ObamaCare fails, it is on Trump and this GOP-controlled Congress. Surely we haven’t fallen so far through the looking glass that Republicans — who control the White House, Congress and the Judiciary — can get away with killing healthcare while blaming it on anyone else.
Marcela Howell is the founder and executive director of In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda.
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