I’m bothered that we live in a society where women have no qualms about proactively seeking out abortion coverage on their insurance plans just as much as I’m bothered that Democrats want my tax dollars to fund abortion. Thus, I’m upset at both concepts.

I thought the article was saying that the Pro-Choice Caucus *didn’t* like the fact that the Senate bill required women to send a separate check to pay for abortion coverage. It seems that the Pro-Choice Caucus in fact does not want women to have to pro-actively choose to obtain abortion coverage.

So if the idea of women conscientiously choosing to pay for “abortion insurance” irks you, shouldn’t you be in fact agreeing with the PCC (on this very, very, limited point)?

Of course, I would assume that the PCC doesn’t want to have women do this because the PCC would rather have abortions already covered.

(For the record – I am strongly against using public funds to pay for abortions.)

The last Adrienne I met on the web was decidedly unfriendly. Her loss.

I never discussed the payment method in abortion due to privacy issues. That’s a completely separate topic. I’m discussing the overall approach and opinion of abortion that feminists are pushing on our society. You missed the point of the post.

However, I still think that it is better to make one woman pay for a D&C than allowing abortion on demand to be covered.

First some facts about current abortion coverage. From the Kaiser Family Foundation: http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/8021.pdf

“It is estimated that in 2003, 46% of workers with employer insurance were an in plans that offer abortion coverage, and a study conducted in 2002 found that 87% of plans offered abortion as a covered benefit.

The cost of an abortion varies depending on factors such as location, facility, timing, and type of procedure. A clinic-based abortion at 10 weeks’ gestation is estimated to cost between $400 and $550, whereas an abortion at 20-21 weeks’ gestation is estimated to cost $1,250-$1,800. The vast majority of abortions are performed early in pregnancy. In 2004, 89% were in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy and only 1% were at 21 weeks or later. In general, abortions performed in hospitals are more expensive than those performed at clinics.”

According to this AP story: http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/11/women_face_tough_choices_on_ab.html
“13 percent [of abortions] by Guttmacher Institute estimates — are paid for directly by private insurance. The vast majority are paid for in cash, even by women with abortion coverage who do so out of privacy concerns.”

So women who get abortions due to unplanned pregnancy are paying in cash for privacy reasons. The real question comes about when you have situations such as when an ultrasound identifies a fetal anomaly at 20 weeks of gestation which indicates that the fetus will not survive. While the situation may not be immediately life threatening to the woman,
under the Senate bill restrictions, she may have to pay for an abortion out of pocket, and at this advanced stage or given a medical complication, it would likely be conducted in a hospital, significantly more expensive than a clinic-based procedure. This situation could apply to women in a multitude of circumstances, including those with underlying chronic conditions, those who develop other acute conditions during pregnancy, or those who have
incomplete miscarriages that require subsequent intervention, such as a dilation and curettage (D&C).

All of the women in these situations planned to bring the baby full term, but due to medical complications can’t. They may not have bought abortion coverage separately because they didn’t plan an elective abortion, but now, due to extremely restrictive Senate rules, they will have to pay for this procedure out of pocket and it will cost potentially thousands of dollars.