Kansas law bans insurance coverage of elective abortion

According to the Huffington Post, the ACLU has dropped its challenge to a Kansas law that bans elective abortion in insurance coverage.  You’ll notice that the law (see below) specifically states that abortion coverage can be purchased. That’s disappointing because we should create laws that ban elective abortion as much as possible without implying support for any elective abortions.

New Sec. 8. (a) Any individual or group health insurance policy, medical service plan, contract, hospital service corporation contract, hospital and medical service corporation contract, fraternal benefit society or health maintenance organization, municipal group-funded pool and the state employee health care benefits plan which is delivered, issued for delivery, amended or renewed on or after July 1, 2011, shall exclude coverage for elective abortions, unless the procedure is necessary to preserve the life of the mother. Coverage for abortions may be obtained through an optional rider for which an additional premium is paid. The premium for the optional rider shall be calculated so that it fully covers the estimated cost of covering elective abortions per enrollee as determined on an average actuarial basis. (Emphasis added)

(b) No health insurance exchange established within this state or any health insurance exchange administered by the federal government or its agencies within this state shall offer health insurance contracts, plans, or policies that provide coverage for elective abortions, nor shall any health insurance exchange operating within this state offer coverage for elective abortions through the purchase of an optional rider.

(c) For the purposes of this section:
 (1) ‘‘Abortion’’ means the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug or any other substance or device to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth, to preserve the life or health of the child after live birth, or to remove a dead unborn child who died as the result of natural causes in utero, accidental trauma or a criminal assault on the pregnant woman or her unborn child and which causes the premature termination of the pregnancy.
(2) ‘‘Elective’’ means an abortion for any reason other than to prevent the death of the mother upon whom the abortion is performed; provided, that an abortion may not be deemed one to prevent the death of the mother based on a claim or diagnosis that she will engage in conduct which will result in her death.