Legislation that would require Medicaid coverage for abortion-related services cleared the House Health and Human Development Committee.
Sponsored by State Rep Melissa Minor-Brown, HB110 aims to expand equitable access by removing financial barriers that can keep individuals from receiving abortions by assuring coverage is not subject to any deductible, coinsurance, copay, or other cost-sharing requirement.
"I think of all of the women, all of the families that will be supported. All of the women who deserve to have equitable access to healthcare service. I think this is another step in the right direction to prove that abortion is healthcare," said Minor-Brown.
Supporters include ChristianaCare, the state Department of Insurance, the Delaware Psychological Association, and the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Malina Spirito is the Director of ChristianaCare’s Center for Women’s Emotional Wellness and the former President of the Delaware Psychological Association. She represented both organizations at the hearing.
“The greatest barriers to wanted abortions reported by my patients are those of financial constraints and stigma. Challenges that are disproportionately faced by those who are oppressed or marginalized,” she explained. “House Bill 110 will remove the financial barriers that limit equitable access to care, and empower every individual to make healthcare choices that are in their best interest.”
ChristianaCare is the state’s largest healthcare system.
Nick Beard, Policy Coordinator for the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, says many women who seek abortions are victims of reproductive coercion- a form of domestic violence that can lead to pregnancy as a result of threats and/or contraceptive sabotage.
“40% of pregnant women who have been exposed to abuse report that their pregnancy was unintended. There is an incredible link between access to reproductive health services and young women who experience reproductive coercion,” said Beard.
Opposition was primarily based on personal moral views, with some Republican committee members and members of the public questioning if Delawareans should have to pay for a service that they do not agree with.
Nandi Randolph, Policy Analyst for the DE Family Policy Council, is among those who opposed the bill.
“And for the taxpayers that hold deeply religious convictions that this gruesome practice violates, they should not be held hostage in complicity by their tax dollars,” said Randolph. “The priority of the state, the compelling state interest, ought to be to protect their citizens and be good stewards of their tax dollars. It should not be within the state’s priority to ensure the murder of its most vulnerable, and the use of taxpayer dollars to do so.”
Supporters argue this bill is not about moral views, but equitable access to a healthcare service that is already legal in the state.
Republican State Rep. Michael Smith noted that many who oppose some of the more recent bills regarding abortions are arguing against the legalization of abortion itself, a decision that was made in 2017. He agrees the focus of this bill should be on the access it aims to provide.
“Colleague to colleague, I’m going to vote to release the bill today, knowing that abortion is legal,” he said. “I don’t ever want to be the person that does say in the case of rape or incest or something that you didn’t get the opportunity [to obtain an abortion] because of your personal financial situation, or that a fund was created that you aren’t able to access.”
Minor-Brown says she hopes other lawmakers share that sentiment as the bill progresses.
“When we run for office we’re not running for office for ourselves,” said Minor-Brown. “We’re running for office to support the people of Delaware. And what that means is that we cannot use our personal views as a means to vote yes or no on a bill. We have to think of the people we represent.”
Minor-Brown adds the bill will undergo minor technical amendments before heading to the House floor.
If signed into law, Delaware will join 16 other states who provide state funding for termination of pregnancy under Medicaid.
