I am writing in concern over the precedents that are being set to regulate women’s anatomy. The unheard-of margin by which H.R. 7 passed in the House last week – on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade – indicates a bleaker future for women everywhere, and I mean for this to be a call to action.

H.R. 7 – or the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2015 – would cut all federal funding and subsidies for clinics that offer abortions. (The federal funding ban would be permanent law.)

In addition, any insurance plan that receives a federal subsidy, such as Affordable Care Act marketplace plans, would be forced to end coverage of abortion. Three Democrats voted for the bill – they were all men.

As an 18-year-old, I would be remiss to not inform you of the caution I harbor for entering the current state of American society in which the institutional resort is to not trust women.

We are not even allowed to make our own decisions about our reproductive health without being significantly burdened by harmful and factually incorrect counseling, societally inherent shame, the rising costs of abortion procedures and the diminishing access to centers that provide these procedures.

H.R. 7 is a big step in the wrong direction. We are making life harder for women.

Changes are necessary to protect the American woman’s right to choose. I am demanding of my senators that H.R. 7 not pass in the Senate. Furthermore, I am demanding of my fellow constituents that we work together to hold our members of Congress accountable for their votes.

In solidarity,

Madison Crissey Cook

Belfast

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