Fight Over Abortion in Health Overhaul Could Imperil Coverage for Millions

By David Kirkpatrick, The New York Times

David Kirkpatrick reports for The New York Times: "As if it were not complicated enough, the debate over health care in Congress is becoming a battlefield in the fight over abortion.

"Abortion opponents in both the House and the Senate are seeking to block the millions of middle- and lower-income people who might receive federal insurance subsidies to help them buy health coverage from using the money on plans that cover abortion. And the abortion opponents are getting enough support from moderate Democrats that both sides say the outcome is too close to call. Opponents of abortion cite as precedent a 30-year-old ban on the use of taxpayer money to pay for elective abortions.

"Abortion-rights supporters say such a restriction would all but eliminate from the marketplace private plans that cover the procedure, pushing women who have such coverage to give it up. Nearly half of those with employer-sponsored health plans now have policies that cover abortion, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation."

 

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