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If the House language ends up in the final version of the bill -- which would come after it is merged with a Senate version -- it remains unclear how much of an effect it would have.
In 2001, 13% of abortions were billed directly to insurance companies, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which studies reproductive health.
That figure, however, may understate insurance payments for abortion, because it does not include cases in which patients paid for the procedure out of pocket and later asked for reimbursement from their insurers.
Women who obtain health coverage through Medicaid, the federal-state program for low-income people, currently are covered for abortion only in the case of rape or incest, or when the mother's life is at stake.
Dr. Willie Parker, a board member at Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, said the amendment could have the greatest effect on women whose underlying health conditions require hospitalization for a safe abortion.
As an example, Parker cited a pregnancy involving abnormal attachment of the placenta. Although a standard abortion may cost as little as $350, the cost in that situation would range from $3,000 to $4,000.
"Many women don't have that kind of disposable income. If we allow the Stupak amendment to stand, we have just set women back 30 years in guaranteed access to safe abortion services," Parker said.
Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life, which opposes abortion rights, said she was confident that the Senate ultimately would take a similar route as the House.
"There is a division on abortion in the country," Yoest said. "There's not a division on federal funding."
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which played an instrumental role in the House legislation, has already asked its 19,000 member parishes to contact the Senate.
But Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, said prior bids to tighten the abortion language in the Senate had failed, and that the Senate would not follow the House's lead.
"The most important part of healthcare reform to us has been the guarantee that the president made that no one would lose their benefits as a result, and the Stupak amendment undercuts that promise," Richards said. "I think cooler heads will prevail in the Senate."
joliphant@tribune.com
kim.geiger@latimes.com
In 2001, 13% of abortions were billed directly to insurance companies, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which studies reproductive health.
That figure, however, may understate insurance payments for abortion, because it does not include cases in which patients paid for the procedure out of pocket and later asked for reimbursement from their insurers.
Women who obtain health coverage through Medicaid, the federal-state program for low-income people, currently are covered for abortion only in the case of rape or incest, or when the mother's life is at stake.
Dr. Willie Parker, a board member at Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, said the amendment could have the greatest effect on women whose underlying health conditions require hospitalization for a safe abortion.
As an example, Parker cited a pregnancy involving abnormal attachment of the placenta. Although a standard abortion may cost as little as $350, the cost in that situation would range from $3,000 to $4,000.
"Many women don't have that kind of disposable income. If we allow the Stupak amendment to stand, we have just set women back 30 years in guaranteed access to safe abortion services," Parker said.
Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life, which opposes abortion rights, said she was confident that the Senate ultimately would take a similar route as the House.
"There is a division on abortion in the country," Yoest said. "There's not a division on federal funding."
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which played an instrumental role in the House legislation, has already asked its 19,000 member parishes to contact the Senate.
But Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, said prior bids to tighten the abortion language in the Senate had failed, and that the Senate would not follow the House's lead.
"The most important part of healthcare reform to us has been the guarantee that the president made that no one would lose their benefits as a result, and the Stupak amendment undercuts that promise," Richards said. "I think cooler heads will prevail in the Senate."
joliphant@tribune.com
kim.geiger@latimes.com
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