Texas legislators have an unhealthy obsession with what other people do their bodies—and it’s about to make it even more expensive for people seeking abortions in the state. A bill that’d ban all insurance plans from offering abortion coverage has passed both the Texas House and Senate and is on its way to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk to be signed into law, according to Slate.
The bill would prohibit all insurance companies from covering abortion care in their standard plans, requiring women to pay extra premiums for coverage if they think they may need abortions at some point in the next year. The ban would apply not only to insurance plans on the exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act, but also to any plans sponsored by employers or purchased on the private market. A plan would only be allowed to cover an abortion in the case of a pregnant woman’s life-threatening health emergency and not those performed in cases of rape, incest, or extreme fetal abnormalities.
No one plans an unplanned pregnancy—and no one certainly plans on being raped. Once this bill becomes law, many Texas women will have to consider whether it’s worth paying for the separate coverage—or take their chances. This is yet another economic hurdle for people seeking abortions, considering that the average price of an abortion ranges from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. Yet most patients end up paying out of pocket.
Talking points from supporters of this bill tout “economic freedom,” but we know that’s not their goal. It’s just about making it as difficult as possible for women to have abortions, despite the fact that Texas has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world.