Texas governor signs bill banning insurers from covering abortion

Source: Washington Examiner | August 15, 2017 | Kimberly Leonard

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday signed into law a bill that bans insurers from covering abortions, obligating women to pay a separate premium if they want coverage for the procedure when it is performed outside of medical emergencies.

The bill does not contain an exemption for fetal abnormality or for women who become pregnant as a result of rape or incest.

Lawmakers who supported the bill said people shouldn’t be forced to subsidize abortions through their private health insurance plans. Opponents, largely Democrats, countered during debate on the bill that women do not anticipate needing an abortion, particularly in cases of sexual assault. The plan, they said, would require women to buy “rape insurance.”

The legislature debated the limits on insurance coverage during the regular session that ended in May, but Abbott, a Republican, called a special session to revive the bill. A statement on his website called the bill “an important piece of the governor’s pro-life agenda.”

Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Utah have similar laws. Indiana and Utah are the only states that make exemptions for incest and rape. In Oregon and California, insurers are required to cover abortions.

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