Laurie Rubiner, Vice President for Policy of Planned Parenthood Federation, spoke with WNYC’s Brian Lehrer about the Stupak-Pitts amendment on Monday morning. Laurie explained that the Stupak amendment would actually mean millions of women would lose insurance coverage for abortion, even when purchasing a private plan:

“Right now if a woman goes to buy health insurance in the private market the majority of health plans offer abortion coverage in those plans. Under the Stupak-Pitts amendment in the new house insurance exchange women would not be allowed to purchase insurance that includes abortion coverage. That means that the millions of women who purchase insurance through this new exchange, the good news is they will get health insurance, the bad news is that the abortion coverage available today would be taken away from them and we think that’s a real Hobson’s choice.”

The Tea Party crowd is incredibly adept at hypocrisy. After months of hyperbolic cries about “big government” putting an end to your liberty and freedom by interfering with health care choices we now get an amendment that singles out a legal health care procedure and removes that procedure as a choice for women. And what’s worse, they even found a Democratic co-sponsor and 64 anti-choice Democrats to vote with them on the floor of the house.

Rubiner says pro-choice activists must turn their attention to the Senate where she “expects we will be able to temper” the Stupak amendment.

Listen to the interview here: