PP wrong; ‘No Abortion’ insurance law enacted legally

Bill author Pete DeGraaf & Senate sponsor Ty Masterson were congratulated by KFL's Kathy Ostrowski & Jeanne Gawdun

Today, Planned Parenthood of Kansas (PP) is decrying the just-passed pro-life insurance bill, HB 2075, that Missouri enacted in 1983 and that Blue Cross of Kansas City has implemented in Kansas for decades.

HB 2075 includes the contents of a pro-life bill filed by Rep. Pete DeGraaf (R-Mulvane) that removes  abortion from being automatically covered in standard private health plans, other than those obtained to prevent the death of the mother.

Kansas insurers will be allowed to offer abortion coverage only through individually-purchased riders, which the AP reported as costing $2.  READ MORE on the new bill here.

The real reason PP is squawking is that they’ll be losing their cash-cow:  insurance-paid abortion.

Kansas statistics show over 40% of abortions are repeats, i.e. the second, third , fourth or fifth time the same woman has obtained an abortion! Unquestionably, when employers are freed from buying elective abortion coverage for their employees, abortion numbers will be reduced.

In their media release,

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Pro-life state employee health policy being undermined

6 years ago, the Kansas legislature put abortion restrictions into place on the salaries of state employees– which are paid by the state tax-payers.

In his first term in 2010, Rep. Pete DeGraaf (R-Mulvane) discovered that those restrictions had been undermined and filed a bill to fix it.  Unfortunately, this fix– HB 2293– has not yet been adopted in 2 legislative sessions.

With only a few days left, one sole Senator on a committee of six, Ruth Teichman (R- Stafford), is refusing to add this measure to a conference committee report, apparently with the backing of Senate leadership. [Note: Conference reports reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of one or more bills at the end of the term.]

HB 2293 is not a new policy mandate– it closes an illegal loophole using state tax dollars to fund elective abortions.

As used in three other pro-life bills passed this session, HB 2293 defines elective abortion to include those obtained for reasons of rape or incest. 

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KS Senate passes protections for teens & 20-week unborn

Both bills edit old statutes, replacing the term 'fetus' with Unborn Child.

The Kansas Senate today ushered in a new pro-life era by advancing two significant measures that Gov. Sam Brownback is anxious to sign into law.

The landmark Pain-capable Unborn Child Protection Act, HB 2218, and the  Abortion Reporting Accuracy and Parental Rights Act, HB 2035, each passed 24-15.  Both measures acquired minor amendments on the Senate floor and will require a quick assent  by the House, when it returns to work Monday.

UPDATE Mar. 29: House concurs on HB 2035 by100-22 and HB 2218 by 94-28.

Sen. Terry Bruce (R-Hutchinson) did a top notch job leading the defense of HB 2218 in floor debate,  citing

• the 1987 ground breaking evidence published in  the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine,
• a ‘litany’ of consistent scientific studies after that, and
• the 2004 U.S. Dept. of Justice testimony of top researchers.
  

Bruce added “the smartest man he knew, one of only ten neuro-radiologists in the country” supports the science of the bill that unborn children aged 20 weeks post-conception (22 weeks gestation) can acutely experience pain.

Speaking in support of HB 2218 were Senators Julia Lynn (R-Olathe), Ty Masterson (R-Andover) and Garrett Love (R-Garden City. Sen. Jeff King (R-Independence)

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