In typical backward fashion, the Missouri legislature attempted to counter an invasive law, but only passed a more invasive one.
The general assembly voted Wednesday to override Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of Senate Bill 749. The vote gives insurance companies the right to object to covering contraception, abortion and sterilization on moral or religious grounds.
Proponents of the bill say it’s about freedom for employers and insurers. In reality, it only infringes on more people’s rights. This law will put power in the hands of the insurer —- even if an employer and employee want contraception coverage, the insurer can deny it.
To deny coverage, insurers have to have a moral opposition, but there’s no concrete way to qualify an insurer’s moral standings. By bypassing the Affordable Care Act’s mandate for contraception, this law will eliminate any incentive to cover birth control. It turns a health issue back into a cash amount, and there’s no reason for insurers to spend money on something they’re not required to.
Further, it almost ensures a legal battle. The ACA mandates coverage of birth control, and this law creates a conflict in Missouri. The law will probably face several lawsuits. Without this vote, all of that could be avoided.
Kudos to Nixon for his initial veto of the ill-conceived bill. It’s a shame his fellow Missouri lawmakers don’t share the same level-headed view of simple health issues.
Although this law doesn’t outlaw birth control, it’s another law that works to makes it less accessible. It’s another law that takes rights away from women and hands them to people with religious opposition. It only helps to drag on a debate that should have ended in the 1960s.
The ACA is characterized as overstepping and invasive. But with this law, the state government is taking it upon itself to make personal health decisions for others.