WASHINGTON -- A ban on abortion coverage in the health care legislation passed by the House of Representatives is being interpreted in different ways by each side of the abortion debate.
Abortion foes such as the National Right to Life Committee call it a reasonable extension of a long-standing ban on government-funded abortions. Abortion rights supporters such as the National Organization for Women call it an unreasonable new effort to deny millions of women access to abortion.
How congressional leaders resolve the issue as the health care debate moves to the Senate could determine whether legislation becomes law this year or next.
Kaiser Family Foundation's Alina Salganicoff calls it a "hugely charged issue" fraught with "huge unanswered questions." Right to Life's Douglas Johnson predicts: "This is going to be a long, drawn-out battle."
As tensions mount, questions about the ban continue to swirl.
Q: What would the House ban do?
A: It would ban coverage of abortions for those who enroll in a new government-funded insurance plan and those who qualify for government subsidies to buy private policies. Abortion coverage would be allowed in cases of rape, incest and to save a woman's life.
Q: Will the Senate pass the ban, too, and will it be included in a final bill sent to President Obama for his signature?
A: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is struggling to win the 60 votes he needs to get a bill passed. He's trying to reach compromise between the majority of Democrats who support abortion rights and a handful of abortion rights opponents in his party, such as Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., who say they won't vote for a health care bill without the ban.
In the House, which included the ban in its bill shortly before members voted on Saturday, more than 40 Democrats this week told Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., that they won't support a final health care bill unless the ban is removed.
Q: What is the history behind the abortion-coverage ban?
A: In 1976, Congress passed a law banning the use of federal funds for abortions. The idea was that taxpayers who oppose abortion shouldn't have to see their tax dollars used for the procedure. That ban only applies to funds distributed through the annual appropriations for the Health and Human Services Department. Money for new health insurance coverage wouldn't be allocated that way.
Q: How many women would be affected by the House ban?
A: There's no estimate on how many women would qualify for government health care or subsidies. Under the House bill, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that by 2019 as many as 21 million people could be buying insurance with subsidies, which are aimed primarily at helping people who can't get insurance through work. The CBO estimates 6 million could get covered through a government-run plan.
Q: Could women get abortion coverage another way if the coverage ban in the House bill became law?
A: If insurance companies offer so-called riders for abortion coverage, people who use government subsidies could pay for that coverage separately with their own money.
Q: Do many insurance companies cover abortion now?
A: The number is unclear. There have been two studies: one in 2002 by the non-profit Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, and another in 2003 by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a research group. Kaiser found that 46% of employer-based insurance policies covered abortion; Guttmacher found that 87% did. Both groups say the answer likely lies somewhere in between.
Q: Do most women who get abortions use insurance to pay?
A: This also is unclear. A 2003 Guttmacher study found 13% of all abortions in 2001 were direct billed by abortion providers to insurance companies. Many providers are not part of private insurance networks, and the study did not examine how many women submitted out-of-network claims on their own, so the percentage could be higher.
Q: How much does an abortion cost?
A: Planned Parenthood says a first-trimester abortion at one of their clinics costs from $350 to $900. Complications drive up costs.
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