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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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6

Broke Feminist Faces Health Care Battle

Family tragedies have left Michelman with nothing

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(Newser) – When Kate Michelman had mounting bills as a pregnant single mother of three in 1969, she lobbied for abortion rights and became one of America's top feminists. Now, treading water financially again, she's girding for a new fight—over health care. Her daughter is paralyzed and her husband has health problems, but Michelman said her "top of the line" insurance has left her "with thousands of dollars of bills that are not covered."

"We have literally fallen from the middle-class to potentially having nothing." Her husband, who has Parkinson's disease, fell in the driveway one day and fractured his hip. "At that very instant, our lives would be forever different," said Michelman. She quit work as a political consultant to take care of him, but now badly needs a job—and is ready to fight for other families like hers.

Kate Michelman, former president of NARAL and author of 'With Liberty and Justice for All,' speaks during a taping of 'Meet the Press' at NBC studios January 8, 2006.
Kate Michelman, former president of NARAL and author of 'With Liberty and Justice for All,' speaks during a taping of 'Meet the Press' at NBC studios January 8, 2006.   (Getty Images)
Kate Michelman, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, speaks during a news conference February 10, 2004 in Washington, DC.
Kate Michelman, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, speaks during a news conference February 10, 2004 in Washington, DC.   (Getty Images)
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We have literally fallen from the middle-class to potentially having nothing. - Kate Michelman

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6 comments
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Caps
Apr 19, 09 4:59 PM CDT
Go Girl. Fight for all that you can. Reply
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frankel1205
Apr 19, 09 9:03 PM CDT
Good wishes to Ms. Michelman. She is an American icon to women. Reply
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freethemall
Apr 20, 09 1:24 AM CDT
Her "top of the line insurance" didn't cover her very well at all, did it? In my view, this begs the question: What kind of a solution to the healthcare crisis is to require that everybody be insured? It seems to me that it we should have either socialized medicine, as the have in the UK, or socialized health insurance, as they have in Canada. Can we make either of these happen in the USA? Unfortunately, no we can't. Reply
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freethemall
Apr 20, 09 1:28 AM CDT
It sure would be nice if these blogs could be edited after they are posted. I'm afraid my wording is not very clear in the above blog. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
Mad
Apr 20, 09 12:30 PM CDT
I understood and agreed with everything you said (even the part about needing an edit feature)
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