The debate over the health care reform bill, passed in the House in a vote of 220 to 215, has fueled the ongoing, equally divisive debate over insurance coverage for abortions. Significant concessions were made to anti-abortion representatives and constituencies in the version of the bill passed through the House, including stipulations prohibiting coverage for abortions through a public option plan, and more controversially, through private insurance plans subsidized with government funds, leading The New York Times to call the bill “the biggest victory in years”[1] for abortion opponents. Federal funding has traditionally not been used to finance abortions; however, most employer-based insurance plans currently offer coverage for abortion. Under the version of the health care reform bill passed through the House, most Americans would be covered by health insurance funded, at least in part, by federal money, and therefore many women would be ineligible even to use their own money to buy coverage for elective abortions. The bill does not prohibit coverage in cases of rape, incest, and life endangerment, and requires that in every part of the country there must be at least one plan that covers abortion and at least on plan that does not; however, the bill continues to be criticized by pro-choice groups as one of the biggest set-backs to women’s reproductive rights in years.The debate over abortion coverage continues as the Senate attempts to pass its own version of the bill, an effort likely to continue through the rest of the year. While a health care reform bill is a long way from being passed, it is clear that women’s reproductive rights will continue to be central to the debate.
[1] David Kirkpatrick and Robert Pear “For Abortion Foes, a Victory in Health Care Vote” The New York Times. (November 9, 2009), p.A1
