women's rights came under attack in the U.S. Senate recently when the "Respect for Rights of Conscience Act" sought to allow any employer to opt out of abortion, contraceptive and other health treatment coverage based solely on the undefined determination of the employer's religious and moral beliefs. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid denounced the bill as an extreme ideological amendment." Pa. Senator Bob Casey disagreed.

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Originally published in the Philadelphia Inquirer on March 18, 2012

It seems a lifetime ago that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Griswold v. Connecticut that a state law prohibiting the use of contraceptives violated the right to marital privacy. Eight years later, the constitutional principles underlying that decision were pivotal to the court's ruling in Roe v. Wade, which recognized that the right to have an abortion was a protected, private decision, with some exceptions.

Recently, the battle moved to the U.S. Senate, where the "Respect for Rights of Conscience Act," proposed by Sen. Roy Blunt (R., Mo.) as an amendment to a transportation bill, sought to allow any employer to opt out of abortion and contraceptive coverage -- and any other health treatment, including prenatal care, childhood vaccinations, cancer screenings, and mammograms -- based solely on the undefined determination of the employer's religious and moral beliefs. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) rightfully denounced the bill as "an extreme, ideological amendment."

Fortunately, the Blunt Amendment was narrowly defeated, 51-48. Olympia Snowe of Maine was the only Republican to vote "nay." The bill has been cited as one of Snowe's principal reasons for her recent surprising decision to retire from the Senate. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) confessed to the Anchorage Daily News, "I have never had a vote I've taken where I have felt that I let down more people that believed in me." She unhesitatingly said "no" when asked if she would vote the same way again.

Apparently the qualms expressed by Murkowski and Snowe are not shared by the senior senator from Pennsylvania, Democrat Bob Casey Jr., who joined only two other Democratic senators, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, in voting for the Blunt amendment. Casey insisted that the alternative position supported by other Democrats did not go far enough to protect the constitutional liberties of religious institutions and employers -- despite recent concessions by the Obama administration. Casey's vote was reminiscent of many of his earlier positions, most notably his vote against federal funding of stem-cell research in 2007 (supported by 63 senators, including 17 Republicans). Nelson was the only other Democrat who voted with Casey then. That bill, vetoed by President George W. Bush, became law when President Obama enacted it via an executive order.

Women should not need a permission slip from the government or employers to address their reproductive health needs, and it is becoming increasingly clear that the women of Pennsylvania cannot trust Casey to protect their health and defend their rights. The senator had an opportunity to stand by the dignity and well-being of women on the Blunt amendment, but chose instead to stand with Republicans and the likes of Rush Limbaugh. Casey's vote made it clear that he supports the religious and moral beliefs of employers above comparable rights and beliefs of women. No explanation can mitigate this fundamental fact. Ironically, ensuring women's access to contraception would reduce the number of abortions, something the anti-abortion Casey should support.

It is time to hold Casey accountable. During his 2006 Senate campaign, Casey gave verbal assurances to women's rights organizations that his abortion position would not translate into opposition to women's health measures or support for the Catholic Church's position on contraception. And Democratic leaders supporting Casey said that women's rights would not be compromised by Casey's votes for Supreme Court nominees. That, too, proved false.

For Casey, a commitment to women's health and rights is nothing but political rhetoric, as his broken promises prove. It is time for Pennsylvanians to ask whether we can, in good conscience, vote for him in November.

Authors Bio:
Kate Michelman is one of the most respected and influential women leaders in America today.

For nearly 20 years, she served as President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, catapulting the organization to prominence as the nation's premier reproductive rights group--an achievement that has earned her a reputation as a nationally recognized expert not only on women's issues but also on grassroots organizing and strategic organizational development. Under Kate's leadership, NARAL Pro-Choice America transformed the political debate and positioned a woman's right to choose as a fundamental American liberty. She has also been an academic, consultant and author.

Since retiring from NARAL, Kate has written her well received memoir -- With Liberty and Justice for All, published by Penguin Books -- authored op-eds that have appeared in major national publications including The New York Times and the Washington Post, lectured at universities and other venues nationwide and been a sought-after consultant and campaigner for advocacy organizations as well as candidates at all levels of government, from Congress to President. In 2004, she directed the Democratic National Committee's "Campaign to Save the Court." In 2008, she served as senior advisor on women's issues for John Edwards' presidential campaign, after which she endorsed and campaigned nationwide for Barack Obama. She has consulted for candidates for Congress and United States Senate as well. Kate assisted Advocates for Youth on a project to use her personal story to inspire young people to act on their beliefs. Currently she is a senior advisor on women's health policy for the Women's Law Project in Philadelphia.

During her time at NARAL, Kate was a frequent advisor to former President Bill Clinton. She worked closely with -- and her counsel has been sought by -- many of the most powerful leaders in America, from Senators to Cabinet Secretaries.

Vanity Fair Magazine named Kate one of America's 200 Women Legends, Leaders. Washingtonian magazine named Michelman--a seasoned lobbyist and skilled political strategist--one of the capital's 100 most powerful women and The Hill named her one of the top grassroots/non-profit lobbyists. While serving as NARAL's President, Kate pursued a legislative agenda to keep abortion legal while making it less necessary and built NARAL Pro-Choice America into a dominant force in electoral politics at the state and federal levels. Fortune Magazine has described NARAL Pro-Choice America as "one of the top 10 advocacy groups in America." 

Early in her professional career, Michelman was a specialist in early childhood development, with a discipline in developmental disabilities. Building on her work with special-needs children in rural Pennsylvania on the edge of Appalachia, she developed a model multi-disciplinary diagnostic treatment program for developmentally disabled preschool children and their families.

Michelman, who first honed her organizing skills in the civil-rights movement, dedicated her life to women's equality and health with a focus on reproductive freedom after her own humiliating experience with a pre-Roe v. Wade abortion in 1969 when abortion was largely illegal. In order to obtain a hospital "therapeutic" abortion to avoid injury and possible death in a back alley procedure she was required by law to obtain the consent of the husband who had deserted their family as well as a hospital panel comprised entirely of men.

Prior to joining NARAL Pro-Choice America in 1985, Michelman was executive director of Planned Parenthood in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where she expanded the range of reproductive health services available in the area. She also trained medical students and residents in child development as a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Pennsylvania State University School of Medicine. She has also been a Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University.

Michelman was married for nearly 40 years to the late Fred Michelman. She has three daughters and six grandchildren.