Despite President Barack Obama’s promise that Obamacare would not be used to pay for abortions, over a thousand insurance plans under the president’s signature health care law are in fact offering coverage for on-demand abortions. This is also a violation of federal law, which prohibits qualified health insurance plans under Obamacare from paying for abortions, except where the mother’s life is endangered, or where the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest.
A report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in September stated that 1,036 plans in 28 different states provided coverage for abortions that did not fall under the allowable exceptions. Two pro-life groups, the Family Research Council and the Charlotte Lozier Institute, conducted their own investigation after seeing the GAO Report, and according to their research, this problem is poised to become even more widespread in 2015, with more companies switching to cover abortion on demand, and the plans that were already offering coverage for abortion services starting to expand that coverage.
The Washington Examiner reported that the FRC and Lozier Institute say that part of the problem is that the Obamacare law itself and related regulations are so lengthy and complex, that language providing abortion coverage is “hidden in confusing language in health plans, a charge verified by the recent GAO report.”
As expected, the news about Obamacare covering abortions in direct contravention to the law was sharply criticized by Republicans. House Speaker John Boehner tweeted a link to the Washington Examiner story, highlighting the President’s broken promise:
Rep. Chris Smith (R-New Jersey), the co-chair of the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-life Caucus, also announced on Thursday that he would be introducing a bill titled the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act,” which would require health care plans to be more transparent about their coverage for abortion services and to comply with the restrictions of the law.
Follow Sarah Rumpf on Twitter at @rumpfshaker.
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