The House bills denial of insurance coverage for abortion to poor & middle class women using the new Health Care Exchange, even for those who use their own money (Sophie Made Her Choice: Pro-Choice Dems Vote For The Bill), is surely going to be a hot issue as the Nation's focus shifts to the Senate, and later, Conference Committee. One startling thing to keep in mind, however, is that the House wasn't really as discriminatory as it might appear on the surface because, as it turns out, very few women of any economic level have their abortions paid for by insurance today.
According to the NY Times:
- only about half of those who receive insurance coverage from their employers have coverage of abortion,
- the federal employees’ health insurance plan and most state Medicaid programs ban coverage of abortion and
- 5 states—Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, North Dakota and Oklahoma—entirely bar private insurance plans from covering elective abortions.
The net result: only 13% of abortion procedures were billed to insurance companies in 2003.
Given this reality, do you think the language quoted by the Wash Post below is justified or hyperbole? Is this truly, "the greatest restriction on a woman's right to get an abortion" and is it worth potentially killing overall health reform over?
Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL-Pro Choice America, said that although the vote was "extremely disappointing and outrageous," the "fight isn't over." DeGette said she remains hopeful that the amendment will be dropped as more Democrats who voted for it -- and their constituents -- realize it goes beyond the status quo of limiting federal funding for abortions. Some of those House Democrats are not against abortion rights, just against federal funding, and she surmised that they may have misunderstood the amendment.
She said her House allies have requested a meeting with Obama, saying they "need him to back us up" after lying low on the issue.
"This would be the greatest restriction on a woman's right to get an abortion with her own money in our lifetime," she said. "The stakes could not be higher."
What do you think?
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