Many New Jersey health insurance plans now are forced to cover elective abortions.
Even though killing unborn babies is not health care or a right, Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration claimed both when it issued the mandate late last year. Part of the Democrat governor’s order went into effect Jan. 1 and even more health insurance providers will be forced to comply later this year, KYW Newsradio reports.
“We must and will continue to take a comprehensive approach to making reproductive health care safe and accessible to all who need it in our state,” Murphy said Wednesday in a statement. “This is a matter of defending a fundamental right that remains under attack throughout our country.”
In June, however, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that abortion is not a constitutional right in the historic Dobbs v. Jackson ruling. Now, some states are protecting unborn babies from abortion again, while others, controlled by Democrats like Murphy, are working aggressively to expand elective abortions.
The Murphy administration introduced the regulation after the state legislature rejected a similar proposal last year. New Jersey already forces taxpayers to pay for elective abortions through Medicaid, and more than 22,000 unborn babies are aborted in the state every year.
The new mandate applies to groups that sell insurance through the New Jersey health insurance marketplace Get Covered New Jersey, a spokeswoman for department Commissioner Marlene Caride told NJ Advance Media. The School Employees’ Health Benefits Program and the State Health Benefits Plan, which cover government employees, also will be required to cover elective abortions by 2024, according to the report.
New Jersey Right to Life executive director Marie Tasy told LifeNews that the governor is doing the bidding of the billion-dollar abortion chain Planned Parenthood, which donated heavily to his political campaigns.
ACTION ALERT: To complain, Contact Gov. Phil Murphy.
“Announcing this regulation to include abortion on demand coverage up to the moment of birth on Thanksgiving Eve and once again fast tracking the process during the Christmas season and depriving NJ citizens of adequate public input on the matter demonstrates a display of unparalleled abortion zealotry and repugnant arrogance by Governor Murphy and his administration,” Tasy said.
She said Murphy already has forced state taxpayers to give $114 million tax dollars to Planned Parenthood since being elected.
NJ Advance Media also described the new mandate as “fast-tracked,” and noted that religious employers are not automatically exempted; instead, they must request and receive approval to be exempted.
According to the governor’s office, state officials only will allow “bona fide” religious employers to be exempt.
Also this week, Murphy’s office announced that it awarded $6 million in new zero-interest, taxpayer-funded loans to abortion facilities to expand and increase security.
“This program is an important step in the Murphy Administration’s ongoing commitment to helping ensure access to reproductive health care services throughout New Jersey,” Health Commissioner Judith M. Persichilli said in a statement. “These loans will support the improvement of facilities with equipment upgrades, increased staffing, and expanded IT services to enhance reproductive health care.”
Earlier this year, New Jersey Right to Life warned voters about how extreme state Democrat leaders are on abortion. The pro-life group pointed to a USA Today editorial by Murphy and Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver that admits they support late-term elective abortions and oppose parental consent for minors.
“They don’t care that the people of NJ don’t support such an extreme edict!” the pro-life organization responded.
Polls consistently show that a strong majority of Americans support legal protections for unborn babies, parental consent for minors, bans on taxpayer-funded abortions and other limits.
A recent Harvard poll found 72 percent of Americans, including 75 percent of women, oppose abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Another Marist poll in January similarly found 71 percent of Americans oppose abortion after the first three months of pregnancy.
Even in Democrat strongholds like California, polls show opposition to unrestricted abortions through all nine months of pregnancy. For example, a Rasmussen poll in August found only 13 percent of California voters think abortions should be legal up to birth.
ACTION ALERT: To complain, Contact Gov. Phil Murphy.
