By Erika Brock

TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – A bill to ban insurance coverage for abortions is on its way back to the House after it passed the Senate Tuesday.

Sen. Greg Walker, R-Columbus, the bill sponsor, said House Bill 1123 aligned Indiana with one of the provisions under the Affordable Healthcare Act otherwise known as ObamaCare.

HB 1123 would prohibit insurance companies from covering abortions, unless there is a specific circumstance, such as in cases of rape, incest or the health of the mother. It would include all insurance companies, such as state employee health plans, private policies and student health policies.

“The right to abortion is a constitutional and protected right to woman,” Sen. Mark Stoops, D- Bloomington said.

The bill does allow for abortion coverage if the consumer opts to pay for it separately as an add-on through a rider or endorsement.

Stoops said he does not think women plan a year in advance or when signing up for insurance that there would be a possibility they might have an abortion so they would not know to get the rider. He said this idea was ludicrous.

Other lawmakers agreed.

“I think woman are tired of being told what they can and can’t do,” said Sen. Gregory Taylor, D-Indianapolis.

The bill passed the Senate 37-10.

Erika Brock is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.