Calif. Forces Catholics to Fund Abortion Insurance

The ACLU and abortionists are heralding a decree by California that Catholic universities cannot exclude elective abortion coverage from employee health insurance.  The mandate from the governor's office issued Friday refers to abortion as "a basic health care service" and says that it's unconstitutional to allow Catholics to refuse to pay for mothers to kill their unborn children.

"Pro-life employers have the freedom to choose health insurance plans that do not conflict with their beliefs on the dignity of human life. . . . California cannot be allowed to discriminate against health plans that don't cover elective abortions and force people to purchase coverage that conflicts with their convictions."
-- Catherine Short, Life Legal Defense Foundation

For background, read Media Hides ObamaCare Abortion Lies, Exposed at Supreme Court as well as Catholics Defeat ObamaCare in Court

Also read Everyone Pays for 'Gay Fertility' Treatments in California via Health Insurance

UPDATE 8/26/14: ObamaCare Pays for Sexual Mutilation in California

-- From "California: Insurers Must Cover Elective Abortions" by The Associated Press 8/23/14

Although the federal Affordable Care Act [ObamaCare] does not compel employers to provide workers with health insurance that includes abortion coverage, [Michelle Rouillard,] the director of California's Department of Managed Health Care said in a letter to seven insurance companies on Friday that the state Constitution and a 1975 state law prohibits them from selling group plans that exclude the procedure. The law in question requires such plans to encompass all "medically necessary" care.

Jesuit-run Santa Clara University and Loyola Marymount University notified employees last fall that they planned to stop paying for elective abortions, but said faculty and staff members could pay for supplemental coverage that would be provided through a third party. The two schools said their insurers, Anthem Blue Cross and Kaiser Permanente, had cleared the move with the state.

University employees who objected to the decision and abortion-rights groups lobbied the women' caucus of the California Legislature, which in turn asked Gov. Jerry Brown to clarify and reverse the health care department's determination.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "California reverses position on health insurance abortion coverage" by Tracy Seipel, San Jose Mercury News 8/23/14

In her letter, Rouillard said that her department had "erroneously approved or did not object" to discriminatory language that limited or excluded abortion coverage in some health insurance policies that cover "a very small fraction" of health plan enrollees dating back to 2008. The controversy surfaced last year after administrators at Santa Clara University and Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, both founded by the Jesuit order, decided to drop health insurance coverage of elective abortions.

The decision led to uproar among staff and faculty at each institution, prompting some members to reach out to non-profits like Planned Parenthood for assistance. Those abortion rights advocates in turn contacted the Legislature's Women's Caucus, which sent a letter to Gov. Brown this month asking him to direct the department to change its position about what constitutes a covered abortion.

Spokespeople for both universities on Friday said they are conferring with their insurers, Anthem Blue Cross of California, and Kaiser Permanente, about the decision in order to ensure that the plans at the schools are fully compliant with state and federal law.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Calif. Insurers Required To Cover Elective Abortions, DMHC Says" posted at California Healthline 8/25/14

. . . several abortion-rights advocacy groups -- including the American Civil Liberties Union of California, NARAL Pro-Choice California, NHLP, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California and the Trust Women: Silver Ribbon Campaign -- wrote, "This clarification about statewide abortion coverage in health plans follows both the spirit and the letter of California law" (NHLP release, 8/22).

However, the antiabortion groups Alliance Defending Freedom and Life Legal Defense Foundation sent a letter to Rouillard on Friday saying that they plan to file a civil rights complaint about the new directive.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Atheists, Liberals Lament Recent Supreme Court Religious Liberty Rulings