If you were faced with the decision of having an abortion, would your health insurance cover it? This is a question that many women have probably never considered. It’s a health care procedure that most people just don’t plan ahead for. Well, if you happen to be covered under your employer’s health plan, it’s likely that you do have at least some coverage. For now. Unfortunately, politicians across the country have been busy trying to take away that coverage. Since 2010, 13 states have passed laws prohibiting some or all insurance plans from covering abortion care. Most Americans with employer-based heath insurance currently have coverage for abortion care. In fact we know that 87 percent of typical employer-based insurance policies cover medically necessary or appropriate abortions (as of 2002).
By Kari Ann Rinker, State Coordinator, Kansas National Organization for Women (NOW) & Member, ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri at 11:28am
Yesterday the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri brought a challenge against my home state's ban on comprehensive insurance coverage of abortion. The case was brought on behalf of the ACLU's members who are losing their abortion coverage as a result of the law — I am one of those members. I am also the State Coordinator for Kansas NOW, and a large part of my job is to keep abreast of the Kansas Legislature. I have watched and fought against piece after piece of anti-abortion legislation that has been pushed through in the 2011 session. Every piece of this legislation has become law, rubber-stamped by a governor who has promised to promote a "culture of life" within the state. But this so called "culture of life" puts the very health of Kansas women in jeopardy and drastically infringes upon their individual rights.
By Brigitte Amiri, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project at 5:07pm
Today the ACLU and the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri filed a case challenging a Kansas law that prohibits insurance companies from providing abortion coverage in their comprehensive plans. Since 2010, 13 states have passed laws prohibiting some or all insurance plans from covering abortion care. Kansas's law is the first to take effect, and our lawsuit is the first to take a step toward putting an end to this growing trend.
