Senate to Battle Over Abortion Coverage
By today, bills have to pass at least one state legislative chamber in order to have a chance at becoming law this year. The Georgia Senate is scheduled to consider 30 bills before the day ends including a controversial Senate bill that would prohibit some insurance policies from covering abortions.
Several Republican Senators are sponsoring the legislation to eliminate abortion coverage for state employees participating in the State Health Benefit Plan. The Georgia Department of Community Health already banned the coverage for state employees last year, but this would put it into law.
The legislation would also prohibit abortion coverage for Georgians participating in a healthcare exchange run by the federal government under the Affordable Care Act. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle spoke in support of the bill at a lunch sponsored last week by the Faith and freedom Coalition.
“Standing up for the unborn is very critical, and I think if we can’t do that we’re forgoing our responsibility as elected officials.”
Georgia Right to Life says the bill is needed to prevent taxpayer money from subsidizing abortions.
But even though Republicans hold the majority in the state Senate, Democrats plan to wage a fight. At a recent rally, Democratic Senator Nan Orrock called the bill a war on women.
“Bring that bill on the floor of the Senate and your actions will have consequences. We are a mighty power, a mighty voice…Roe v. Wade has been the law of the land for how many decades now. We will not have our rights trampled upon, and we will not go back to the backroom alley butchers.”
Two years ago, a number of female senators walked out of the Senate in protest of a bill banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Democrats would not say they if they plan to stage a similar protest. Planned Parenthood Southeast is also opposed to the bill. The organization says there are no exceptions for rape, incest, or fetal anomalies. But Planned Parenthood says lawsuits are unlikely because the affordable care act leaves abortion coverage under exchanges up to states.
Currently, 24 other states have laws in place that restrict abortion coverage in federal or state health exchanges. The bill makes an exception for pregnant women who face a medical emergency such as death.
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