JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The debate about insurance coverage for birth control and abortion has reached the Missouri legislature, where a battle is looming over a bill that would allow any employer to refuse to provide coverage for the services if they violate the employer’s beliefs.
The legislation, which would also not force insurance providers to provide the services instead, is a response to President Barack Obama’s efforts to get employers – including religious institutions – to provide free coverage of birth control and abortion services as part of their group health insurance plans.
After some religious groups complained about the proposed rules, the Obama administration said that such coverage would be provided by insurance companies instead of directly by employers. But that did not go far enough for some Republicans in the Missouri Senate, who say that employers should not be forced to pay for medical services that they disagree with.
The bill proposed by Senate Republicans was set aside after debate on Tuesday. Senate Democrats say that the proposed bill isn’t designed to protect employer’s religious freedoms, as Republicans claim, but instead it would set a precedent in which employers could deny medical coverage for a wide variety of medical treatments.
Democratic Sen. Jolie Justus of Kansas City called the proposed legislation, “attack against birth control and women.”
“We can’t be in a situation where employers get to be the arbiters of what services they (employees) get and what services they don’t,” said Justus.
Missouri Republicans disagree, saying that the bill would provide employers with “flexibility.”
“I just want to make it clear that we’re not infringing in any way on their ability to purchase birth control,” said Majority Leader Tom Dempsey to the Associated Press. “It’s just really about the cost.”
