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Fast Facts
Restrictions on Low-Income Women's Access to Abortion
How do certain restrictions on access to abortion care disproportionately affect low-income women? |
All women should have access to reproductive-health care regardless of their economic status, but discriminatory restrictions on public funding make abortion services an unavailable choice for many low-income women. Banning public funding for certain services limits reproductive-health options for those who rely on the government for their health care, putting women's health in danger and inserting politicians into the doctor-patient relationship. |
CURRENT STATE LAWS33 states and the District of Columbia restrict low-income women’s access to abortion: AL, AR, CO, DE, DC, FL, GA, ID, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MI, MS, MO, NE, NV, NH, NC, ND, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI, WY.
17 states provide low-income women access to abortion: AK, AZ, CA, CT, HI, IL, MD, MA, MN, MT, NJ, NM, NY, OR, VT, WA, WV. |
CURRENT FEDERAL LAWSSeveral federal laws, most notably the Hyde amendment, bar access to abortion care for most low-income women who rely on the federal government for their health care, with exceptions only to preserve the woman's life or if the pregnancy results from rape or incest. Women affected by these bans include recipients of Medicaid, Medicare, the State Children's Health Insurance Program, and Indian Health Service clients. |
2009 ENACTED STATE LEGISLATION2 states enacted 2 measures restricting low-income women's access to abortion: AK, CO. |
2009 FEDERAL ACTIONMost of the federal funding bans on abortion services for low-income women described above are extended annually by Congress. In 2009, however, Congress repealed the ban on the District of Columbia's ability to offer abortion care to low-income women.
In addition, the House passed a health-reform bill that imposes sweeping new restrictions on funding for abortion care. It forbids abortion coverage in the proposed new system for both low-income and middle-income women with subsidies, and bans such coverage entirely in the proposed public plan. It forces subsidized customers who want abortion coverage to purchase a supplemental policy at an additional cost – an illogical proposal given that women do not plan to need abortion services and that low-income women cannot afford to spend added funds on a single-service health plan. The Senate voted down such a provision, but later included other troubling restrictions that could have a similar chilling effect on the availability of abortion coverage in the new system, potentially leaving low- and middle-income women without comprehensive health coverage. The differences between the two bills remain unresolved as of this site's launch. |
| For a map of all states with Restrictions on Low-Income Women's Access to Abortion - click here. | |
