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| Rep. Eileen Cody |
Washington voters have a long history of supporting
reproductive rights that stretches back over forty years. In fact, two years
before the U.S. Supreme Court made their landmark decision in Roe v.
Wade, Washingtonians approved Referendum 20, which legalized abortion in the
early stages of pregnancy.
Then again in 1991, when it looked like Roe
could be overturned, voters approved Initiative 120. I-120 protected a women’s
right to make a private choice with her doctor in this state- no matter what
occurred at the federal level.
Over
twenty years later, nearly every single insurance plan in Washington covers both
maternity services and abortion services. However, the Affordable Care Act could
inadvertently limit these reproductive choices by denying coverage for
terminating a pregnancy.
This
change would interfere with a woman’s ability to make the best decisions for her
family and her health.
Understanding
that this could be an unintended consequence of the Affordable Care Act, Rep. Eileen Cody
(D-West Seattle) has introduced the Reproductive
Parity Act for the second year in a row. The House version of the bill has over 40 co-sponsors.
The
Reproductive Parity Act would protect a woman’s right to make their own health
care decisions by requiring insurance plans to offer full coverage for
repoductive health, as they do under current law.
Curious
about the legislation? Interested in the conversation? The House
Health Care and Wellness Committee is holding a public hearing on the
Reproductive Parity Act tomorrow at 8:00 AM.
As
always, TVW will be covering all the action
from the hearing. You can also follow
us on Twitter for live updates.
Read this story in Spanish.
Read this story in Spanish.
