After a recent California ruling that religious organizations can’t opt out of providing abortion coverage in their insurance policies, a Planned Parenthood official looked forward to California developing an abortion tourism industry, as states around the country are passing heartbeat and personhood laws.
A three-judge panel in California has ruled that religious organizations still have to provide abortion coverage to employees because it’s a “necessary treatment for the condition of pregnancy.”
So, apparently, pregnancy is a “condition,” and abortion is a “treatment.” It’s good to know how liberals think.
The Missionary Guadalupanas of the Holy Spirit—a Mexican based ministry which also has a headquarters in Los Angeles—sued California’s Department of Managed Health Care (CDMHC) to receive an exemption from having to provide abortion coverage. In the three-judge panel, that lawsuit was rejected.
Catholics were among other religious observers who had previously had exemptions to state laws that required employers provide insurance coverage for the deadly procedure, but these exemptions were removed by the CDMHC in 2014.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Catholic mission’s argument was that others’ abortion coverage would be subsidized by its members’ premiums, which they consider “morally, ethically, and religiously unacceptable.”
According to the unanimous opinion of the judges (all appointed by Bill Clinton), their request “attempts to limit coverage of most abortions by health care service plans in California,” which they say would violate the state Constitution and state law, which guarantee the right to abortion.
According to Beth Parker, the general legal counsel for Planned Parenthood of Northern California, “The ruling is really important now in context of what’s happening in the rest of the country.”
Parker continued, “We anticipate that women may be coming here to obtain abortions” [because other states are passing anti-abortion legislation].
California’s governor, Gavin Newsome, opened up the state to abortion tourism in May of this year, according to the Los Angeles Times. He recognizes the benefit of being an abortion-friendly state and the funds abortion could provide, much like Colorado has benefited from the legalization of marijuana.
In fact, Newsome signed a proclamation welcoming all abortive moms to come to California to kill their kids.
As states and local governments become increasingly hostile to in-womb homicides—and it may very well protect the unborn children of economically-challenged parents—the affluent will no doubt happily get on a plane to see the sights and wine and dine themselves after murdering their baby in a different state.
Sooner or later, we will need a federal solution to the abortion crisis. And that will, no doubt, require a conservative Supreme Court.
