The EACH Woman Act is a bold effort to reverse the Hyde Amendment’s ban on abortion coverage through Medicaid.
Pro-choice lawmakers in both chambers of Congress introduced legislation on March 12, 2019 to block the Hyde Amendment and other bans on insurance coverage for abortion care. This legislation, known as the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH Woman) Act, would ensure that every person who receives thier health care or insurance through the federal government will have coverage for all pregnancy-related services, including abortion.
The EACH Woman Act seeks to ensure that pregnant people can make their own decision about their pregnancy. Over the years, the ban has been extended to coverage for federal employees and their dependents, people who get their insurance through other government programs, including Native Americans, and immigrants in federal detention centers. It forces people to pay for abortion care out-of-pocket, which can be an impossible obstacle for LGBTQ+ people experiencing poverty.
For 43 years, the Hyde Amendment has been used to push abortion out of reach for people enrolled in Medicaid health insurance. It is no surprise that those excluded from abortion coverage are more likely to be people who are already failed by our health system, including people of color, queer people, young people, transgender, and non-binary people.
No one should be denied coverage for an abortion just because they are struggling to make ends meet. Tell Congress to pass the EACH Woman Act now to overturn the Hyde Amendment!
Abortion restrictions and coverage bans force people to delay care or stop them from getting abortions altogether. This year it’s gotten even worse, as states race to ban abortion. Those most hurt will be low-income people who can’t travel to other states to get care.
We should all be able to live, work, and make decisions about our health and our future with dignity; however, much money we make.
This bill creates two critical standards for reproductive health coverage.
- First, the EACH Woman Act respects that each of us should be able to make our own decisions about pregnancy. If someone gets care or insurance through the federal government, they will be covered for all pregnancy-related care, including abortion.
- Second, the EACH Woman Act prohibits political interference with decisions of private health insurance companies to offer coverage for abortion care. Federal, state, and local legislators will not be able to interfere with the private insurance market to prevent insurance companies from providing abortion coverage.