Republican Party Drops Employee Insurance Plan Allowing Rare Abortion Coverage
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
November 13, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — With members of its party unanimously opposing abortion funding in the government-run health care bill in the House, the national Republican Party has moved to drop an employee insurance plan that allows coverage of abortion.
The news web site Politico uncovered the aspect of the plan in a report issues late Thursday showing the Republican National Committee insurance plan paid for abortions.
Today, GOP chairman Michael Steele, himself a pro-life former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, said the Republican Party would remove the abortion coverage from its employee insurance plan, currently offered thorough Cigna.
"Money from our loyal donors should not be used for this purpose," Steele said in a statement. "I don’t know why this policy existed in the past, but it will not exist under my administration. Consider this issue settled."
RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho told Politico on Thursday that the current insurance policy has been in place since 1991 "and we are taking steps to address the issue."
The news web site obtained a letter from RNC Chief of Staff Ken McKay to the 168 committeemen and committeewomen across the country who run the party that said Steele "takes this issue very seriously."
Jim Bopp, a committeeman from Indiana who is also the legal counsel for the National Right to Life Committee, said rank-and-file Republicans did not know of the policy.
“We were not aware of this, obviously, and this will, of course, be fixed,” he told Politico. “I think Chairman Steele will see to it that that’s the case.”
The news web site indicates there is no information it has seen to show that any republican party employee has ever used the plan to get an abortion in that very limited life-of-the-mother circumstance.
The Democratic National Committee, which is the national party for Democrats, provides abortion coverage for its employees and has a platform supporting unlimited abortions funded at taxpayer expense.
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