Article By Jerry Cox
Last week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report showing insurance companies pay for abortions in a number of states under Obamacare. The report underscores the importance of a good, pro-life law that Arkansas passed in 2013.
The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Act — commonly known as “Obamacare” — created a system of state and federal health insurance exchanges. Insurance plans under Obamacare are not supposed to pay for abortion except in cases of rape or incest or to save the life of the mother. But the data from the GAO shows that millions of Americans have abortion coverage through Obamacare.
The GAO found more than one out of every four (26%) Obamacare plans available nationwide paid for “non-excepted” abortions — that is, abortions that were not performed due to rape or incest or to save the life of the mother. The GAO said those Obamacare plans covered an estimated 4.4 million people.
The GAO data indicates most of the Obamacare plans covering abortion were in California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, and Minnesota.
None of the Obamacare plans offered in Arkansas covered elective abortions, thanks to a good law the state legislature passed in 2013.
Act 72 of 2013 by former Rep. Butch Wilkins (D — Bono) and former Sen. Cecile Bledsoe (R — Rogers) prevents taxpayer funds from being used to pay for abortions under Obamacare in Arkansas.
It took pro-lifers two years to pass a law like Act 72. In 2011, similar legislation failed in committee, and Act 72 was narrowly defeated in committee once before it finally garnered enough support to pass and become law.
At the time, many people said Arkansas did not need Act 72. Some thought that the federal restrictions on taxpayer-funded abortion would be enough. But looking back, lawmakers clearly did the right thing by passing Act 72.
A lot has changed since 2013. Today, Arkansas is the most pro-life state in the nation, and abortion is generally prohibited except to save the life of the mother. There is still a lot of work for pro-lifers to do. For example, right now abortionists in other states are mailing abortion drugs into states like Arkansas — which is both dangerous and illegal. That is why Family Council is urging pro-lifers to go to abortioncrimebymail.com and ask their leaders in Washington to stop abortionists from sending abortion drugs through the mail into states like Arkansas.
Still, taxpayer-funded abortion is prohibited under the Arkansas Constitution, and thanks to Act 72 of 2013, elective abortions aren’t being paid for in Arkansas under Obamacare. That is something to celebrate.
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