HR 7 would permanently ban abortion coverage in federal health plans, make abortion coverage effectively inaccessible in state exchanges
NEW YORK—(ENEWSPF)—January 28, 2014. The U.S. House of Representatives today passed HR 7, also known as the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act”—a bill that would deny access to abortion care coverage for millions of women who rely on federal insurance plans and state exchange marketplaces for health insurance.
Said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights:
“This attack on the affordability of essential reproductive health care for women says a lot about the priorities of the politicians behind it.
“Rather than doing something to improve the desperate economic circumstances that too many women across the U.S. are facing, they have chosen to advance a measure that would exacerbate them. And rather than supporting efforts to ensure women’s access to high-quality, safe, legal reproductive health care, they have passed a bill that would worsen a nationwide health care crisis that is already placing countless women’s lives and health at risk of grave harm.
“Women’s health care, including abortion, must not be singled out for differential treatment from other medical services and procedures, and no woman should be denied essential care because of her income or economic status.
“It’s time for Congress to focus on legislation that would actually support women’s ability to make the best health care decisions for themselves and their families, no matter how much money they make.”
HR 7 would permanently ban abortion coverage for millions of American women, including federal employees, women enrolled in Medicaid, military servicewomen, Peace Corps volunteers, and many others who receive health care and insurance coverage through the federal government.
HR 7 would also ban health facilities, including health care centers on military bases, from offering abortion services. Furthermore, the bill outright bans abortion coverage from being offered in multi-state health insurance plans created under the Affordable Care Act.
Source: http://reproductiverights.org
