Arizona First to Officially Opt Out of Abortion Coverage in Health Care Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill into law Saturday making Arizona the first state to opt out of the federal health care abortion mandate. The Legislature had already been working on language to keep abortion funding out of state plans. Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, said lawmakers took that language and tailored it to apply to the federal mandate. "Once Obamacare passed," she said, "we were able to get an amendment on the bill that opts Arizona out of abortion coverage in any insurance exchanges." Brewer signed SB 1305 at a Center for Arizona Policy Family Dinner. "We had somewhere close to 40 legislators on stage as Governor Brewer did a live bill signing," Herrod said. "It was very much a celebration." Contact: Steve Jordahl Source: CitizenLink Publish Date: April 27, 2010 Link to this article. Send this article to a friend. |