Friday, December 12, 2014

Spending Bill Includes Abortion Funding for Peace Corps Rape Survivors - NationalJournal.com

Spending Bill Includes Abortion Funding for Peace Corps Rape Survivors - NationalJournal.com: "December 11, 2014 The battle over abortion funding for Peace Corps members may be coming to an end.

The $1.1 trillion "CROmnibus" spending bill includes a provision to remove a 35-year ban on federal funding for abortions for Peace Corps volunteers in the event of rape, incest, and life endangerment.

Since 1979, insurance through the program has been prohibited from covering abortions, even in the above circumstances. The volunteers are currently the only recipients of government-sponsored insurance that are banned from receiving this kind of emergency coverage, which is available to federal employees and Medicaid recipients. Congress eliminated a similar prohibition for military members last year.

Federal funding for abortions is not permitted outside the above three situations.

"This is a technical correction so that women representing the United States abroad benefit from the same protections that female service members and other federal employees do," House Appropriations Committee Democrats spokesman Matthew Dennis wrote in an email."



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