TRENTON, New Jersey (LifeSiteNews) — New Jersey officials plan to require health insurance plans overseen by the state to cover the cost of abortions as part of Democratic Governor Phil Murphy’s push to make abortion accessible and cheap all across the state.
The proposed rule comes nearly a year after Murphy, a self-professed Catholic, said his faith inspired him to sign legislation that allows abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.
The report from New Jersey’s insurance regulator cites the flawed Turnaway Study as well as the input of pro-abortion medical groups, such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the World Health Organization, and the American Medical Association to justify the proposed rule.
“The Department notes that the medical evidence points to access to the full range of safe reproductive health care services, particularly the range of recommended contraceptive methods, as central to healthy outcomes, and notably leads to fewer unintended pregnancies,” the regulator’s report states. “However, access to such services are often not available due to systemic, patient and provider barriers.”
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Planned Parenthood thanked Gov. Murphy’s administration for pushing the rule, which will financially benefit the abortion chain by making it easier for them to make money from abortions.
“We believe in the universal right of all New Jerseyans to access reproductive health care regardless of income or economic status. This move by the administration will help break down barriers to accessing abortion care,” Planned Parenthood Action Fund said in a statement, as reported by NJ.com.
Students for Life Action criticized the proposal.
“Abortion loving politicians love forcing death by abortion into healthcare, tone deaf to the conscience rights objections of many Americans and prioritizing a misuse of funds,” SFL Action spokeswoman Kristi Hamrick told LifeSiteNews via email. “Corporate abortion and their allies have moved from ‘choice’ to coercion in these policies, trying to require participation in ending the lives of the innocent.”