Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger

The GOP continues to wage its war on women’s rights. Last week, the House passed HR 358. HR 358, ironically named the “Protect Life Act,” could be the cause of women being left to die in hospital emergency rooms without treatment if the bill becomes a law—which is unlikely since President Obama has already released a statement in opposition to the bill.

Here’s a brief explanation of the bill from Human Rights Watch:

Bill Would Permit Hospitals to Let Women in Need of Care Die

(Washington, DC) – The United States House of Representatives approved a bill on October 13, 2011, that would put women’s lives at risk, Human Rights Watch said today. The bill, if it becomes law, would reverse longstanding federal policy requiring hospitals to provide life-saving care regardless of expense, Human Rights Watch said.

The Protect Life Act, HR 358, would amend the healthcare reform law to grant hospitals far-reaching powers to deny patients abortion care, without any exception for emergency situations. US law currently requires hospitals receiving federal funds to provide emergency care to anyone in need up to the point at which they can be stabilized or transferred, if the original hospital is incapable of providing the care they need.

“The misnamed Protect Life Act is about allowing women to die if they need an emergency abortion,” said Meghan Rhoad, women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “It is a vicious attack on women’s rights and on the most basic right to life.”

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