‘Abortion surcharge’

Richard A. Sokerka

When it comes to pro-life issues, Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) is always in the forefront of his fellow members in Congress in fighting to end any taxpayer funds being used to provide abortions.

This month, he and 101 other congressmen sent a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar requesting new regulations to enforce the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) requirement that insurers participating in the ACA marketplace must collect a separate payment, or “abortion surcharge” if the plan covers elective abortion. Current regulations permit insurance companies to essentially hide the abortion surcharge from consumers.

In 2009, President Obama told Congress that the ACA would not pay for abortion. But he broke that promise. Research by ObamacareAbortion.com has shown that, for 2018, roughly half of the plans sold on the ACA marketplace cover abortion on demand.

“Obamacare’s abortion surcharge is practically invisible to consumers,” said Smith, chair of the Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Life Caucus. “Consumers have a right to know. Abortion is not healthcare — it dismembers and chemically poisons defenseless unborn children and hurts women.”

Congressman Smith is urging the Trump Administration to take action and enforce the law to bring transparency to Obamacare’s abortion coverage and the abortion surcharge. “No person should have to pay for abortion coverage they don’t want,” Smith said.

Congressman Smith is also the prime sponsor of the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (H.R. 7), which has passed the House of Representatives four times since 2011. This bill creates a government-wide, permanent protection against taxpayer dollars paying for abortion and health insurance plans that include abortion, and would permanently end the ACA’s expansion of taxpayer funding for abortion coverage.

We urge those who are pro-life to write to their elected officials to support Smith’s efforts for new ACA regulations regarding abortions and to finally make the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act the law of the land.