LOGIN NOT A MEMBER? REGISTER

FOR PRESS CONTACT US  SUPPORT

The Maryland Public Policy Institute

• RESEARCH
• Criminal Justice
• Economic & Fiscal Policy
• Education
• Environment
• Gas Tax
• Government Transparency
• Health Care
• Transportation
• Welfare
• EXPERTS
• EVENTS
• MPPI PRESS
• ABOUT US
• POLICY BLOG

Abortion and the health-care debate

Originally published in the Washington Post

Health Care

by Marc Kilmer

OP-EDS

In his March 14 op-ed, "How health care discourages abortion," T.R. Reid contended that a woman is likely to avoid abortion if she knows she and her child will have access to medical care. In fact, those pregnant women who disproportionately obtain abortions in the United States -- women in poverty or near poverty -- are eligible for health-care coverage through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as are their children.

In every state in the nation, pregnant women are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP if they live in families with incomes that are less than 133 percent of the federal poverty line. Most states set eligibility limits much higher. The District, for instance, sets its limit at 300 percent of the poverty line. Children are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP in every state, too, usually at income levels double or triple that of the poverty level.

If Mr. Reid's dubious contention were true, we would have already seen the effects in the United States. Enacting the legislation being considered by Congress is unlikely to do anything to reduce the rate of abortion.

Marc Kilmer, Salisbury, Md.

The writer is a senior fellow at the Maryland Public Policy Institute.