Kan., S.C., Lawmakers Address Abortion In Budgets; Okla. Senate Passes Insurance Restrictions

Lawmakers in Kansas and South Carolina addressed abortion and other reproductive health issues in their state budgets, while the Oklahoma Senate passed a measure restricting abortion coverage in the state. Summaries appear below.

~ Kansas: On Wednesday, abortion-rights supporters delivered petitions urging Gov. Mark Parkinson (D) to veto a proposal added to the state budget (Section 167 of SB 572) that aims to prevent the state from distributing federal family planning funding to Planned Parenthood clinics, the AP/Wichita Eagle reports. The provision is part of the $13.7 billion state budget, approved by the Legislature last week, for the fiscal year starting July 1. Parkinson vetoed a similar proposal in the 2009 budget and has until May 28 to decide if he will veto individual budget items this year. Seth Bundy, a spokesperson for Parkinson, declined to comment on the issue. For the current fiscal year, the federal government is expected to provide the state with nearly $2.4 million to provide low-income residents with family planning services, including contraception, exams and other preventive women's health services. The funding cannot be used for abortion services. The proposed state budget provision would require the state Department of Health and Environment to first distribute the federal money to local health departments and then to hospitals and clinics that offer primary or "comprehensive" preventive care. For the next fiscal year, Planned Parenthood clinics in Hays and Wichita were expecting to receive at least $232,000, according to the AP/Eagle. Abortion-rights opponents argue that local health departments have a greater need for the funds than Planned Parenthood and that some residents are opposed to giving funds to an abortion provider, even if the funds cannot pay for the procedure. Planned Parenthood officials said that the Hays clinic could be forced to close without the funds. Peter Brownlie, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, said the budget provision is "a particularly misguided effort," noting that the federal money "can only be used for family planning and is there for preventing unintended pregnancies and abortions" (Hanna, AP/Wichita Eagle, 5/19).

~ Oklahoma: The state Senate on Wednesday voted 32-13 in favor of a bill (HB 3290) that would prohibit all health insurance plans from covering abortion services except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the woman, the AP/Oklahoman reports. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Anthony Sykes (R), states that insurers could sell abortion coverage only through separate, supplemental policies. The bill now goes to Gov. Brad Henry (D), who vetoed two other abortion-related measures this year. Several Democrats objected to the new bill, arguing that it would force pregnant women who learn of fetal abnormalities to either undergo costly uninsured procedures or carry to term (AP/Oklahoman, 5/19).

~ South Carolina: On Wednesday, the state House approved a budget plan with a provision that would cut $4 million from treatment and screening programs for certain cancers, including breast and cervical cancers, the AP/Myrtle Beach Sun News reports. The budget passed 71-44. The measure also would eliminate nearly $6 million for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs. According to state House Ways and Means Committee Chair Dan Cooper (R), the House and Senate are expected to begin working through their respective spending plans next week (Davenport, AP/Myrtle Beach Sun News, 5/20). The AP/Greenwood Index-Journal reports that a provision in the House budget proposal restricting abortion coverage could hold up the plan's final passage. The House approved the provision 75-38, but the Senate rejected it 24-17. The proposal -- introduced by Republicans in March -- would prohibit the state employee health insurance plan from providing abortion coverage, with no exceptions for rape and incest. The state insurance plan covered six such procedures in 2009, the AP/Index-Journal reports (Davenport, AP/Greenwood Index-Journal, 5/19).


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