Over the past four months, I have been eagerly reading 200 health care policies to investigate how many colleges and universities across the country cover elective abortions and how many require that their students enroll in these abortion health care plans.
The results are astounding…not only in what we have reported but also the fact that colleges and universities have now taken it upon themselves to promote and institutionalize elective abortions. Colleges and Universities should be places where students can go to learn and prepare themselves to enter into the workforce as enlightened individuals. Instead, they are being required to purchase abortion health care plans, and pay for their peers’ abortions on condition of enrollment.
In addition to this, students don’t know that they are paying for their peer’s abortions. Many universities not only require students to purchase health insurance, but unless a student can provide proof of creditable health care coverage, they will automatically be enrolled and billed for the school endorsed plan. This is happening without students even knowing. Many parents who pay for their child’s tuition are not aware about the hidden abortion coverage.
How have we come this far? How have we as Americans missed this? The youth of America have always been the target of the pro-abortion industry, but coercing students to purchase abortion health care on condition of enrollment enters new territory for the pro-abortion business. With the additional possibility of taxpayer funded abortions, colleges and universities, as well as the Department of Education have a lot to answer for.
Students for Life along with a Member of Congress have written to the Department of Education to inquire whether they know what is going on with the school health insurance policies and whether they know that federal education grants could be violating the Hyde Amendment. We asked the Department of Education to respond by the end of November, and are still waiting for a response.
While the study investigated school sponsored insurance plans that cover “elective abortions,” there are still a number of plans that cover “complications of pregnancy,” but do not specifically exclude elective abortion. This leaves room for the language to be misused and possibly misapplied.
Also, a majority of the plans placed pregnancy under the definition of sickness, and a number of them covered pregnancy and maternity expenses as “any other sickness.” The pro-abortion philosophy of a child being an illness or a parasite instead a fully formed preborn baby has silently made its way into our health care system and health care language. This to me was one of the most surprising finds of the research.
SFLA will continue to work with students on the ground as well as members of Congress to take a stand for Life on college campuses across the country. Abortion is not health care and should not be a pre-requisite for learning.