NM Senate committee advances bill requiring insurance companies to cover abortion costs

Lawmakers in a New Mexico Senate committee advanced a bill last week that could force insurance companies to cover the full cost of elective abortions.

Key Takeaways:

• SB 189 would require group insurance plans to fully cover the cost of elective abortions, cross-sex hormones, and gender transition surgeries, even on minors.

• New Mexico Alliance for Life reports that the bill would also remove conscience protections for those who oppose abortion.

• The bill has reportedly been "fast tracked" at the request of Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham.

The Details:

SB 189 passed the Senate Tax Committee on a 6-4 party-line vote on Tuesday, February 10.

The legislation requires group health insurance policies to subsidize the total cost of elective abortions as well as "gender affirming care" like cross-sex hormones and gender transition surgeries on minors.

According to New Mexico Alliance for Life (NMAL), the bill also removes conscience protections and could force doctors who oppose abortion, as well as religious hospitals, to commit elective abortions.

READ: No, abortion is not a 'cure-all' for pregnancy complications

NMAL reports that the bill is one of several that have been "fast tracked" through the legislature at the request of pro-abortion Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. Meanwhile, true health care costs are skyrocketing for Americans who require medically legitimate treatments.

"This bill gets priorities backwards. It subsidizes ideologically driven elective abortions 98% used as birth control and life elective gender surgery while ignoring life-saving, medically necessary health care,” said NMAL's Elisa Martinez in testimony submitted against the bill.

Zoom Out:

Gov. Lujan Grisham has notoriously signaled her support for abortion, calling it a "fundamental human right." She has secured millions in taxpayer funds to build an abortion campus operating in conjunction with the University of New Mexico. The University of New Mexico is known to provide abortions up to 23 weeks and 6 days. Reports from Live Action News have documented the university’s involvement in fetal research using the remains of aborted babies. 

Despite this, lawmakers are pushing to promote abortion even further. In addition to this bill, New Mexico senators also recently passed SB 30, a bill that would eliminate abortion reporting altogether.

The Bottom Line:

New Mexico is already one of the most pro-abortion states in the nation, with no restrictions on when or why an abortion can be committed. Now, it seeks to force group health insurance policies to support abortion by covering the total cost of the deadly procedures, which are not medically necessary.