The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging a Kansas law that prohibits insurers from covering abortion in their comprehensive plans.
Since 2010, 13 states have enacted laws that prohibit some or all insurance policies from covering abortion care, but the lawsuit (ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri v. Praeger) is the first to confront one of these laws.
"Politicians should not interfere in what should remain a private medical decision," said Kari Ann Rinker, state coordinator for the Kansas chapter of the National Organization for Women. Rinker's insurance company will eliminate coverage for abortion in her plan because of the law. "For too long, my home state of Kansas has been the epicenter of an effort to erode a woman's access to abortion. Enough is enough."
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The law prohibits comprehensive insurance plans from covering any abortion other than one to save a woman's life, for which a separate rider is allowed at an additional cost.
However, according to an ACLU news brief, some insurers have indicated they will not offer such riders to some or all of their customers, leaving women to pay out of pocket for a service previously covered by insurance.
Women will also not be covered for abortions in newly created health exchanges, which will be operating in 2014, except in limited instances. The law does not permit riders for these plans.
"This law is part of a nationwide trend to take away insurance coverage for a legal medical procedure that is an important part of basic health care for women," said Brigitte Amiri, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. "Many things can happen in a pregnancy that are beyond a woman's control, so having insurance coverage for abortion ensures that every woman can get the health care she may need."
"Most insurance plans already cover abortion, along with other pregnancy-related services, including prenatal care," added ACLU of Kansas and Western Missouri legal director Doug Bonney. "The state should not deprive a woman of the peace of mind of knowing that her insurance will cover all of her medical needs, including ending a pregnancy if she and her doctors decide that is the right decision for her and her family."
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