Abortion

self | 11/14/09 | self

[learner]

Excuse but abortion is elective. Why do we have to pay for elective medical items. If we do have to pay for elective items, do we have to pay for facial items also?

[donna]

Pregnancy is elective. It didn’t used to be covered.

[Slyfox]

Good point. If abortion is allowed then I would like to get some plastic surgery and have the American people pay for it.

[Starwolf]

Not always. Ectopic pregnancy and other problems require abortions and are medically necessary. Those are called therapeutic abortions and were legal before Roe v Wade, and have always been a covered procedure as they are medically necessary.

Abortion for birth control, sex selection, etc is indeed elective surgery, and it not covered in most health plans.

[Happyinmygarden]

I suspect that the proponents of taxpayer-paid-for abortions consider it just another form of a tummy tuck.

[donna]

Unusual perks: Goldman Sachs covers sex changes
http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/08/news/companies/gender.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008020809

[Frank_2001]

Cosmetic surgery would be included in this Communist monstrosity-you think Zero will want to tick off Queen Nancy?;) So will sex change operations for lifestyle freaks. DOWN WITH COMMUNIST “HEALTHCARE”!!!

[Starwolf]

In many states it was covered as a temporary disability, now it is a straight up medical procedure covered under the 80-20 split or whatever you health policy has.

[netmilsmom]

>>Pregnancy is elective. It didn’t used to be covered.<<

As someone who sits without a uterus, I see no reason why I have to pay for it either.

Get a rider for anything elective. I’m not going to buy Viagra, nor Birth control.
I’m going to have surgery for male pattern baldness nor prostrate surgery.

I shouldn’t have to pay for any of that.

[SaveTheChief]

Abortion is a holy sacrament in the church of the left. As such, access to the procedure will be simple and cheap.

[Mrs. Don-o]

It's been pointed out to me that dealing with ectopic pregnancy was never regarded as an abortion at all: in law, in morality, or even in terminology. Removal of a fallopian tube that's in danger of rupture is not listed anywhere as an abortion method. Nor is its purpose the evacuation of a dead baby. Though the embryonic baby dies, its sad demise is caused by its implantation in the tube, not by its excision.

[Starwolf]

Its still lumped under the theraputic abortion since a pregnancy is terminated to protect the life of the mother.

Words matter, and I see the left citing among other things that ectopic pregnancies would not be covered. Its a lie of course...all theraputic abortions are normally covered by insurance. Elective ones may or may not be.

[Starwolf]

A surpeiing number of companies do, including defense contractor. I think the Federal Employee Program does as well. Its at the usual split.

[svcw]

True and generally you pay a rider or extra premiums on your health insurance to cover it.
99.5% of all abortions are elective, the public should not have to pay for elective procedures.

[Semperfiwife]

I believe Pelosicare also covers sex changes. She has to take care of her constituents in San Francisco, after all.

[zipper]

Ectopic pregnancy and other problems require abortions and are medically necessary.

If both the baby and mother would die without surgery there is no moral conundrum -- it isn't in the same category as abortion.

[zipper]

All you have to see to learn how far left the Democrat position is on abortion, and how much they are determined to force taxpayers to foot the bill for them, is their abortion policy, written in black and white in the 2008 DNC platform statement. From page 50 (emphasis mine):

The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to undermine that right.

[Starwolf]

The term for kinds of treatment is “Therapeutic Abortion” and I do not know of any serious group that opposes them.

The left is taking opposition to abortion on demand as including therapeutic abortions as well. Its a lie, but it has some traction.

Words have meaning, and in this case they are critical. We need to clearly state that we do not oppose legitimate therapeutic abortion, but will fight tooth and nail against abortion on demand.

[Mrs. Don-o]

You're quite right that "words matter," and vigilance is required. I appreciate being exposed to more information, since it can get quite complicated even if nobody is being deliberately deceptive. (On the other hand, we can always count on the abortion industry to deliberately and elaborately deceive.)

I don't know whether the term "abortion" is used to refer to the removal of an ectopic pregnancy in all insurance policies, or in most, or in some. But I do know that, even pre-Roe, even in those states which had the most thoroughgoing bans on abortion tout court, removal of an engorged fallopian tube or of a pregnant but cancerous uterus, and analogous life-saving procedures, were never legally considered "abortion" nor were they prosecuted as abortion.

Thanks for the good discussion.

[zipper]

We need to clearly state that we do not oppose legitimate therapeutic abortion

If the fetus could not possibly survive even close to birth anyway, then how is it an abortion? We're not even talking about a remote possibility of survival, unlike with birth defects.