According to the far right, Barack Obama is a total radical.  Ummm……I WISH!  Actual radicals (and progressives who fear the term) find this assertion both laughable and ignorant. From financial reform to health care—from same-sex marriage to global warming, President Obama is a middle-of-the-road, moderate Democrat, straddling the center of the political line: his weight shifted left, his eyes looking right.

And now, Obama has once again tossed women to the curb.  You may remember that back in March, when he signed the new health-care legislation, Obama also conceded to the opposition by signing an Executive Order which forbade any federal money to be spent on abortion.  Reproductive freedom activists were furious at yet another loss in this increasingly conservative climate.  Obama painted a narrative that the agreement to take away choice from women who desperately needed assistance was a necessary evil to get the entire legislation passed.  Yet Obama only appeased anti-choice representatives such as Bart Stupak in order to allow other representatives to vote ‘no’ on the bill.  Reason?  These gents (and a few congresswomen) are facing reelection in the fall.  In other words: hurt millions of women to save a few seats in Congress.

In any case, quite a fuss was made when Obama made the deal with the devil. Yet what about recently?  The Obama administration is at it again, this time banning abortion coverage in “high risk insurance pools.” The kicker is that he is absolutely not required to do so and such a measure is not in the original health care bill. The ban forbids women even from using their own money to pay for plans that cover abortion.  The only exclusion is for women who have been raped or in cases of incest.  RH Reality Check reports: “Women entering these plans are, by definition, those who have experienced serious medical conditions—so serious that insurers are unwilling to sell them insurance.”  The ACLU explains that “under the ban a woman with heart disease or diabetes might be compelled to carry a pregnancy to term despite its potentially damaging effect on her future health. “

Furthermore, Colorlines notes several other concerns.  High risk pools include individuals who have cancer, but they also include those suffering from diabetes or heart disease, “conditions that are prevalent in communities of color, where seeing a doctor or getting the right meds has long been a luxury.”  In another Colorlines article, Michelle Chen observes, “The plague of racial health disparities—including both poor health and a lack of insurance—has found a new breeding ground, ironically in a federal program designed to remedy those very inequalities.”  In short, Obama’s ban continues to make abortion a luxury and not a basic right.

We now know with certainty that Barack Obama is an anti-choice president.  Even when given the option to let women spend their own money on a policy that covers abortion, he has failed.  The power was fully in his hands: allow it or ban it.  He chose to ban it, and in doing so has given us all the opportunity to rev up and get organized.  Reproductive freedom is far from achieved in the U.S., and each year seems to bring more bad news.  It’s time to call out Obama and his anti-choice, anti-women policies and give voice to actual radical voices that the mainstream media silences.