Texas Senate OKs restricting insurance coverage for abortion
The 20-10 party-line vote for preliminary approval requires women to purchase extra insurance to cover abortions except amid medical emergencies. A final vote Sunday will see the measure clear the chamber, meaning it's now on a fast-track to Gov.
Legislators debated other bills limiting insurance coverage for abortion during
Ten states already have laws restricting insurance coverage of abortion in all private insurance plans:
"
The bill passed the
"What we're saying here is: If you want to buy this coverage, you can buy it," Smithee, a Republican from
Outnumbered
Sen.
"No woman plans to have an abortion and certainly no woman can plan to be raped, no woman can plan to be attacked by someone she knows in her own family," Garcia said. "Those are the most heinous of the heinous crimes."
"One of the talking points we've heard lately is abortion should be considered health care,"
State policy analyst
"My sense is that there isn't any identifiable impact of these restrictions since most women pay out of pocket already," Nash said by email.
A Guttmacher analysis in March said about 60 percent of privately insured abortion patients pay out of pocket, because their policy doesn't cover the procedure or because deductibles are high. But many women who get abortions are too poor to afford private insurance.
The insurance bans also have been criticized by the
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