This Amendment could impact millions of women and take away the abortion coverage they currently have.
Research shows that the majority of employer-based insurance policies cover abortion. This coverage enables women like Christie and Liz to afford the abortion care they need:
In 2003, Christie was happily expecting her second child. During a routine ultrasound, she was diagnosed with a severe fetal anomaly that prevented her baby's lungs from developing and could not be corrected. After much research and a second and third opinion, Christie and her husband decided to terminate the pregnancy. Christie was able to have her abortion provided by her OB/GYN in the same local hospital where she had previously given birth and her insurance through her husband's employer covered 80% of her abortion care-the same amount they would have covered had she carried her pregnancy to term.
Liz had a similar experience when she was diagnosed with a severe fetal anomaly during her first pregnancy. When Liz and her husband learned that their unborn baby's heart was growing outside of its body, they made the decision to obtain abortion care. Liz's insurance provided full coverage for her termination, which her OB/GYN was able to provide in a hospital.
Abortion care is basic health care for women and it should be covered just as any other medical procedure.
Did your insurance plan cover your abortion? Tell us your story.
Who Else Could be Affected?
Under the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, millions of women who would get their health insurance through the Exchange could lose the opportunity to choose coverage for abortion care. These women include:
- working mothers in families that annually earn up to $88,000;
- women who are self-employed and paying the entire cost of their coverage;
- young women entering the job market for the first time who are the least likely to have coverage through their employer;
- women who were insured through their husbands' employers, but now are divorced and have to purchase coverage on their own through the Exchange; and
- women who work in small businesses whose owners decide to seek more affordable, comprehensive coverage through the Exchange.
The Planned Parenthood Action Center has more information about the impact of this Amendment.
|
