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HELENA, Mont. (AP) – The Montana House Judiciary Committee on Friday introduced a bill that would ban coverage of abortion procedures by health insurance plans offered through the state exchange.
The Republican-backed bill would ban coverage except in cases where the mother’s life is in danger. Abortion would not be covered by the plans when the pregnancies are the result of rape or incest.
The 12-7 vote with All Republicans For and All Opposing Democrats came a day after President Joe Biden ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to consider repealing Trump administration regulations that prohibit federally-funded family planning clinics from referring women for abortion.
Biden campaigned to repeal long-standing federal bans on taxpayer funding for most abortions, known as the Hyde Amendment. But this decision would require the approval of Congress.
Supporters of the Montana bill have said taxpayer dollars should not pay for a procedure some find objectionable. Opponents said turning the bill into law would make abortion out of reach for low-income families in Montana.
“This is the ultimate government step,” said Tom Roberts, a retired doctor from Missoula. “This allows our government to dictate to the private sector what kind of insurance coverage can be denied to private customers. This puts insured women in the position of potentially having to pay for an expensive medical procedure themselves, a burden many cannot afford. “
Matt Brower, executive director of the Montana Catholic Conference, said the inclusion of abortion coverage in government-sponsored insurance plans “requires taxpayers to help end the lives of unborn children. “.
“This bill helps protect the conscience of people who do not wish to help fund abortion,” Brower said.
The committee’s hearing on the bill came a day after Governor Greg Gianforte, the state’s first Republican Governor in 16 years, signaled his support for imposing restrictions on access to the abortion in the state.
Gianforte has promised he will sign at least two of the four abortion-related bills already put forward by Montana House in the first month of the legislative session. These bills, which have yet to be considered by the Senate, would ban abortion in most cases after 20 weeks gestation and require abortion providers to treat fetuses born alive during abortion procedures. .
The bill sponsored by Rep. Jane Gillette, a Republican from Bozeman, and brought forward on Friday is a repetition of a similar bill that was passed by the Republican-controlled legislature in 2011, only to veto the governor Democrat of the day, Brian Schweitzer.
In her letter explaining the veto, Schweitzer wrote that the bill would violate the state’s constitution by violating women’s rights to privacy and access to reproductive health care.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports the right to abortion, 26 states place restrictions on abortion coverage in plans offered through Medicare scholarships.
When asked why she didn’t include a provision in the bill to ensure that abortion costs are covered when pregnancies result from rape or incest, Gillette said the bill The bill was based on the vetoed 2011 measure. However, this bill included a provision according to which abortion would be covered by insurance plans in these circumstances.
In a Jan. 4 email to Bill editor Jameson Walker, Gillette called for the wording to be removed from the bill, saying it could be added again if other lawmakers show interest in a such provision.
During Friday’s hearing, Gillette said she would be open to an amendment covering victims of rape and incest, but such an amendment was not introduced. Gillette said in a statement after the hearing that she intended to introduce an amendment to the House to allow additional exceptions.
The bill is heading for a vote on the House floor next week.
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Samuels is a member of the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative corps. Report for America is a national, nonprofit service program that places reporters in local newsrooms to cover undercover issues.
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