NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY
Abortion becoming more common among poor women, racial minorities in US
Among American women who obtain abortions, the proportion living under the federal poverty level has jumped from 27% in 2000 to 42% in 2008, according to a new study.
The study by the Guttmacher Institute, which is an affiliate of Planned Parenthood, suggests that tight economic circumstances may contribute to the increase in the number of poor women seeking abortion. The report does not analyze the campaign by Planned Parenthood to encourage abortion among impoverished women and members of racial minority groups. It does note, however, that just 36% of the women procuring abortions were white.
Regarding payment for the abortions, the Guttmacher study found that roughly one-third of the women had private insurance, one-third had no insurance, and one-third of the abortions were covered by the federal Medicaid program.
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Most Women Pay For Abortions Out Of Pocket, Guttmacher Survey Finds
Fifty-seven percent of women who obtained abortions from April 2008 through May 2009 paid for the procedure out of pocket, while Medicaid paid for 20% of the procedures and private insurers paid for 12%, according to a new survey by the Guttmacher Institute, the Wall Street Journal reports. Thirteen percent of the 9,493 women surveyed reported receiving financial assistance, such as support from a not-for-profit group. One-third of respondents were uninsured, one-third received health coverage through Medicaid and one-third were privately insured.
Among women with private insurance, 63% paid for the procedure out of pocket. Rachel Jones, a senior research associate at Guttmacher, said those women might not have wanted abortion care to appear on their health insurance records, or they might have been unaware that their health plan provided abortion coverage.
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Several House Dems Plan To Support Bill To Increase Abortion Restrictions In Health Reform Law
Seven House Democrats in the bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus say they will support a bill (HR 5111) by Rep. Joe Pitts (D-Pa.) that includes language similar to an antiabortion amendment that caucus Co-Chair Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) attached to the House health reform bill (HR 3962), CQ Today reports. Pitts said he might offer the measure as a stand-alone bill or try to add it to an unrelated bill on the floor, which could prompt a divisive vote during an election year.
The abortion-related provisions in the health reform law (PL 111-148) reflect the Senate's version of the legislation. Under the law, to ensure that no federal funds are used to pay for abortion in plans sold through the health care exchanges, customers purchasing health plans that offer abortion coverage are required to write two checks each month: one for abortion coverage and another for all other coverage. The law also requires insurance companies to keep the payments in separate accounts.
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Abortion providers challenge Oklahoma ultrasound requirement
Abortion providers in Oklahoma have won a delay in the implementation of a new law requiring an ultrasound examination before abortions. Attorney General Drew Edmondson accepted a court order blocking the enforcement of the law while the Center for Reproductive Rights makes a court challenge. The pro-abortion Center argues that the requirement for an ultrasound is intrusive, and a doctor's description of the unborn child may include information that the abortion-minded woman does not want to hear.
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Child Vaccine Refusals Increase in U.S.
More parents in the U.S. are refusing or delaying the vaccinations for their babies, a study suggests. Between 2003 and 2008, the percentage of parents who refused or delayed vaccination doses "increased significantly from 22 per cent to 39 per cent," according to a study presented Tuesday at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Vancouver. Philip Smith of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and his colleagues analyzed data from the 2008 National Immunization Survey, which asked parents if they had delayed or refused a vaccine, and if so, why. The child's health-care provider reported whether the patient was up-to-date on six vaccines.
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Kansas Senate Fails to Override Abortion Bill Veto
The Kansas Senate has failed to override Gov. Mark Parkinson's veto of a bill rewriting the state's late-term abortion laws.
The vote Wednesday was 26-14 to override, one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed to overturn Parkinson's veto. Abortion rights opponents have said they did not expect to ask the Senate to reconsider its action.
The bill would have required doctors to report more detailed information to the state about the late-term abortions they perform.
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Illinois Federation for Right to Life
2600 State Street, Ste E
Alton, IL 62002
Phone: 618.466.4122
Web: www.ifrl.org
E-mail: mail@ifrl.org
