Politico quotes Anna Franzonello of AUL:
So far, 18 states have passed laws to restrict or ban insurance coverage of abortion in health care exchanges, according to Guttmacher. Two states – Kentucky and North Dakota – had older laws in place banning abortion coverage in all insurance plans.
That list may grow. Michigan and New Jersey have introduced bills that would restrict abortion coverage in exchanges. Kentucky’s bill would make clear that the current restrictions apply within the new exchanges. Another abortion coverage measure is, for now, stalled in committee in the Arkansas Legislature.
Anna Franzonello, an attorney with the anti-abortion organization Americans United for Life, predicted more states will follow. The health care law “creates a new concern that states didn’t have before about insurance plans covering abortion,” she said. “The [Affordable Care Act] creates all these new mandates, so the opt-out is a response to what otherwise would be a change in the status quo.”
