In January 2015, leaders in the House of Representative swapped a bill banning abortion hours before it went to a vote. The reason? The bill to ban abortion was too extreme — even for some opponents of abortion. What did they switch it to? Another bill that merely restricts access to abortion, instead of banning it outright.

The switch may have helped them that day but it exposes what we’ve known for too long — they will stop at nothing to go after abortion. Any chance they get, they will take. And they haven’t given up on banning abortion.

The bill banning abortions will come to a vote any day now. Voice your opposition today.

Why were a few anti-abortion politicians uncomfortable with the bill? It’s not that it would ban later abortion in every state across the country — which it would.

It’s not that it’s unconstitutional — which it is.

Maybe they believe a woman’s health, not politics, should drive important medical decisions? Nope.

It’s because a few of them figured out that their constituents would not look too kindly on the bill’s narrow exception for rape, which applies only to survivors who report to the authorities. (Most survivors of sexual assault do not report it.) Their concern was politics — not women’s health.

But the reality is that a ban on abortion is a ban on abortion, no matter the exceptions. Tell your Member of Congress to leave women’s personal medical decisions to the woman and the people she trusts by voting NO on this ban on abortion.

Every woman’s situation is different and no woman should ever be denied the ability to make her own health decision in consultation with the people she trusts. It’s time to stop politicians from barging into our health care providers’ offices.

Tell your representative to vote NO on a nationwide ban on abortion.

Thanks for keeping it personal,

Gretchen Borchelt
Acting Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights
National Women’s Law Center

We just learned that about 11.4 million Americans signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

That’s incredible, undeniable progress.

Thank you for fighting for reform, and for doing your part to help your loved ones and neighbors get coverage. Because of you, this law is helping more people every day.

Today’s news makes it harder to understand why Congress would vote repeatedly to repeal reform, or why well-funded interest groups are still trying to challenge the law wherever they can, sometimes resorting to shameful scare tactics to prevent people from getting health care through the marketplace.

The other side isn’t going away.

The best thing we can do right now is make sure everyone knows what taking health care reform away really means — share this graphic OFA put together to show what’s at stake:

Repealing health care reform might be a rallying cry for some on the other side, but it’s no​t​ some abstract debate. It would have real consequences.

Millions of Americans could lose their coverage because they will no longer be able to afford it.

Repeal would take us back to the days when insurance companies called all the shots — when as many as 129 million people could be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition, or families could go bankrupt just because someone got sick and hit an arbitrary lifetime cap on their coverage.

That’s a cynical outcome to root for.

Fight back — let your friends know what’s at stake by sharing this OFA graphic today:

Thank you,

Barack Obama

Richard Eskow

Three Signs That Young Americans Are Getting a Raw Deal

Young Americans face a weak job market, crushing student debt, and an economy in which their current earnings determine their financial future. These three signs add up to one stark reality: A nation that prides itself on being the land of opportunity is closing the avenues of financial advancement for an entire generation. There are ways to change that, but only if we take action. An aggressive jobs program for younger Americans, combined with student debt relief, would certainly help.

Greece Stalemate Continues

Germany rejects Greece’s request for loan extension. Bloomberg:“The Greek government is trying to agree bridge-financing without meeting the conditions of its existing rescue program, German Finance Ministry Spokesman Martin Jaeger said in an e-mailed statement. European Commission Spokesman Margaritis Schinas moments earlier had said the Greek letter could be the basis for a ‘reasonable compromise.’”

European Central Bank may determine Greece’s fate. NYT:“… aid for Athens lenders could become more tenuous in coming weeks if political and economic turmoil pushes them to the brink of failure. Under [the ECB’s] charter, the central bank is allowed to lend money only to solvent banks.”

Obamacare Continues To Work

Corporations unaffected by Obamacare, finds Bloomberg:“[It’s] putting such a small dent in the profits of U.S. companies that many refer to its impact as ‘not material’ or ‘not significant,’ according to a Bloomberg review of conference-call transcripts and interviews with major U.S. employers.”

Big Obamacare signup numbers put pressure on Supreme Court. NYT:“The Obama administration said Wednesday that 8.6 million people in 37 states had selected or renewed health plans through the federal insurance marketplace, and that most of them would suffer if the Supreme Court blocked premium subsidies for consumers in those states.”

Immigration Ruling Is Bunk

“Texas judge’s immigration ruling is full of legal holes” argues Erwin Chemerinsky and Samuel Kleiner in LAT oped:“The central argument in Hanen’s ruling is that the executive branch must promulgate a formal rule to defer deportation of these individuals. But the federal government constantly sets enforcement priorities without a formal rule.”

“Obama set the immigration trap, and the GOP walked in” says Republican Tamar Jacoby in LAT oped:“Americans aren’t hearing the message about the president’s abuse of authority. They’re hearing the GOP say it hates immigrants.”

Yet judge’s ruling may means months of delay. NYT:“A top administration official said Wednesday it was unclear whether the Department of Justice would seek an emergency order that would allow the president’s immigration programs to go into effect while an appeal proceeds … the administration may prefer to file an appeal rather than an emergency application, though perhaps on an expedited basis, in an effort to get the merits of the dispute to the Supreme Court as soon as possible.”

Breakfast Sides

NYT’s Nick Kristof reverses on unions:“…I disdained unions as bringing corruption, nepotism and rigid work rules to the labor market …. I was wrong … The abuses are real. But, as unions wane in American life, it’s also increasingly clear that they were doing a lot of good in sustaining middle class life … in recent years, the worst abuses by far haven’t been in the union shop but in the corporate suite.”

Majority supports paid sick leave and higher minimum wage, finds AP poll:“Six in 10 Americans favor raising the minimum wage … Six in 10 also favor requiring all employers to give paid time off to employees when they are sick, while two-thirds favor requiring all employers to give time off to employees after the birth of a child.”

California high-speed rail to fuel American manufacturing. Bloomberg:“California has set off a global race to supply train cars for the state’s nascent high-speed rail line, a $1 billion contract proponents say could fuel a U.S. manufacturing boom worth far more than that … The state’s rail authority expects to order as many as 95 trains over the next 14 years, making the purchase worth more than $3 billion … The Federal Railroad Administration stipulates that any project on U.S. soil receiving federal funding must use equipment made in this country, with parts also fabricated here…”