Planned Parenthood CEO Wants Insurance Firms to Fund and Promote Elective Abortions

The CEO of the United States’ largest abortion provider is pushing for insurance companies to fund and become advocates for elective abortions.

Alexis McGill Johnson, the CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, wants insurance firms to include abortion without deductibles in their health plans, she said in a recent interview with MedCity News at the AHIP (America’s Health Insurance Plans) 2023 conference in Portland. A deductible is the amount that an individual pays for their health care services before insurance kicks in.

For instance, a person with an insurance plan having $1,000 in deductible will have to first pay the $1,000 of a medical bill themselves. After that, the insurance companies take on the cost. Most health insurance plans do not cover any elective, or non-emergency, procedures, including abortion.

During a discussion at the conference, Johnson asked for states to extend their Medicaid postpartum coverage to 12 months. She also questioned whether insurance coverage will be available for over-the-counter birth control pills when they hit the market.

Johnson also called for normalizing the practice of abortion—insisting that it is a “fairly normal medical common experience” that people have to navigate.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Planned Parenthood for comment.

Abortion Insurance Coverage

According to the Guttmacher Institute, eight states require abortion coverage in private health insurance plans as of June 1.

While 11 states have laws that, in effect, restrict insurance coverage of abortion in all private insurance plans written in the state, 25 states restrict abortion coverage in plans offered through health insurance exchanges.

In 21 states, abortion coverage in health insurance plans is restricted to public employees. Twenty states have one of the above restrictions in effect.

Insurance costs for abortions depend on the duration of pregnancy and the type of abortion. A medical abortion, which terminates a pregnancy within 12 weeks using oral medication, can cost $300 to $700 without any insurance.

A surgical abortion with vacuum aspiration is performed in a clinical setting for up to 16 weeks of pregnancy. Costs can start from $575 without insurance. For surgical abortion by dilation and evacuation that is available for up to 24 weeks’ pregnancy, costs can range from $895 to $3,000.

Data from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) shows that abortion is banned in 14 states. In 24 states and the District of Columbia, abortion is available and there are no telehealth medication abortion restrictions. In 12 states, while abortion is available, there is at least one telehealth medication abortion restriction.

Defunding Planned Parenthood

In June last year, the Supreme Court handed back to states the right to regulate aspects of abortion that are not codified under federal law, following which several states reimposed stricter rules on such procedures.

Planned Parenthood has been working to reverse the effect of the decision. In a May 14 interview with MSNBC, Johnson said, “We need to see expanded courts from the lower courts all the way up to the Supreme Court. We need to see term limits.”

The reason why the abortion provider called for changes to the Supreme Court is “an attack on our democratic rights and our democratic freedoms,” she said while specifically highlighting the “attack on abortion rights.”

Republicans are pushing for stopping government funding of Planned Parenthood. In January, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) proposed a draft bill aimed at defunding the billion-dollar abortion provider.

The bill, “Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2023,” has garnered support from organizations like Students for Life of America, Concerned Women for America, and Heritage Action.

“Deceitfully, Planned Parenthood guises their business model as one that helps women while their latest annual report shows they made $633 MILLION from taxpayers while ending 383,460 little lives in that same time frame,” Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, said in a statement

“There’s no single entity that stands to make a profit off the violence of abortion more than Planned Parenthood.”