Washington, D.C. – One in six women of reproductive age are enrolled in Medicaid, but since 1976 the Hyde Amendment has banned Medicaid coverage of abortion, along with coverage for women who work for the government, serve in the military, or receive their insurance through someone else who does.
This week, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), introduced the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Woman Act which would ensure that every woman who receives healthcare insurance through the federal government be covered for all pregnancy related care, including abortion.
The EACH Women Act will also repeal political interference by state legislatures in the decisions by private insurers to offer reproductive health coverage.
The words “Equal Justice Under Law” are written on the front of the Supreme Court building, but the Republican Congress is looking for an eraser. The EACH Woman Act is a long overdue redress of a discriminatory policy that denies health care rights to some women because they earn less than others, work for the wrong employer or live in the wrong state. Women want and deserve equality for all, not for some.