Georgia Officials Are Forcing Through Abortion Restrictions That Lawmakers Didn’t Approve
This year, Georgia lawmakers weren’t able to advance a measure that would have prevented the state’s 650,000 public employees from using their insurance plans to cover abortion services. It ended up failing to win enough votes to pass on the final day of the legislative session. But that isn’t stopping the state’s anti-choice officials from trying to force it through anyway.
Georgia’s Department of Community Health voted 5-3 on Thursday to approve a plan that will eliminate abortion coverage in public employees’ health plans — virtually the same measure the legislature rejected. The Augusta Chronicle reports that the abortion restrictions “surfaced as a surprise benefit change this week.”
After the insurance coverage ban failed, Gov. Nathan Deal (R) vowed to use his executive power to enact it anyway. Now, he seems to be getting his way. Deal praised the board’s vote, saying it will help ensure “that state taxpayers aren’t paying for a procedure that many find morally objectionable.”
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