In a letter to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Members of Congress warned the federal agency that it is in violation of a federal law that prohibits congressional health plans from subsidizing induced abortions considered elective.
About two dozen Congressional members signed the letter, led by Rep. Chris Smith, Rep. Eric Burlison, and Sen. Mike Lee. According to a press release published on Smith’s website, the letter follows reports that the health insurance company Aetna will stop offering health plans on the Affordable Care Act exchange in Washington, D.C., known as DC Health Link, during the upcoming year.
Aetna is currently the only provider of congressional-eligible health plans that do not cover so-called ‘elective’ abortions in compliance with the Smith Amendment.
Every induced abortion — the direct and intentional act of killing a preborn baby — is elective, because, as numerous doctors have stated, deliberately killing a preborn baby is not medically necessary and is not the standard of care for any medical condition or pregnancy complication. Even if a pregnancy must end, the baby does not have to be actively killed prior to delivery.
As a result of Aetna’s decision to leave DC Health Link, Congressional Members and their staff have been informed that just two plans that do not pay for ‘elective’ abortions will be available in the new plan year. Previously, there had been eight choices. Those who were members of Aetna will be forced to choose a new health plan by early December.
“It is a clear violation of the Smith Amendment for health plans available to Members and staff to offer elective abortion,” wrote the 22 House Members and 4 Senators. They continued, “Under the Smith Amendment, OPM is prohibited from engaging in administrative activity in connection with any plan that subsidizes elective abortion, let alone almost all of them.”
The Congress Members called on OPM and acting director Rob Shriver to stop using government contributions for health insurance plans that “illegally cover elective abortions.”
“This outcome is a tragic result of OPM’s illegal policies,” the lawmakers wrote. “The fact that plans available to congressional personnel have not properly excluded abortion coverage has been an ongoing well-documented violation of federal law by the Office of Personnel Management,” they said.
