Media headlines like “Glitches hamper rollout of Obamacare website” and “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan” have hounded President Barack Obama as national health care reform struggles for traction.
Testimonies of families who received notices of discontinuing health care coverage have reminded the country that national health care reform is not going as planned. Terminally ill people are saddled with the challenge of finding new health care plans and confusion abounds. With so many problems making headlines, one serious issue with the Affordable Care Act that is not getting the attention it deserves is the hidden coverage of abortion in Obamacare insurance plans.
Before Obamacare was passed, prolife people consistently warned the public there was nothing in the law to prevent abortion from being covered in the tax-subsidized plans in the Obamacare insurance exchanges. Instead of being transparent, the Obama administration has attempted to hide which plans cover abortions. While some states, like Michigan, have moved to ban abortion coverage, others have not.
During an October 30, 2013, hearing, Representative John Shimkus (R-IL) pressed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about this lack of transparency and if she knew which plans covered abortion as a number of his constituents did not want to have plans which included paying for the killing of unborn children.
Secretary Sebelius responded by saying, “Sir, I don’t know. I know exactly the issue you’re talking about. I will check and make sure that is clearly identifiable.”
Shimkus followed up and requested that the administration provide the committee with a list of insurers in the exchange who do not provide abortion coverage and Sebelius said, “We should be able to do that.”
Knowing the history of the Obama administration’s previous attempts to hide the abortion coverage in Obamacare, Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) has introduced the “Abortion Full Disclosure Act of 2013.” The bill would require abortion coverage to be disclosed and prominently displayed by insurance companies when plans are offered on the Obamacare exchange.
Representative Smith said, “Americans have a right to know upfront and with full transparency when they are purchasing a plan that subsidizes the killing of unborn children. Even the most ardent advocate of abortion should embrace full disclosure.”
To learn more about prolife legislation, please visit Right to Life of Michigan online at www.rtl.org.
