Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed a bill on Sept. 4 which would have mandated that insurance providers cover a whole range of contraceptives, including drugs that can cause early abortions to newly conceived babies.

Many Republicans in the Alaska Legislature, including some who claim to be “pro-life,” teamed up with pro-abortion Democrats to first kill several pro-life amendments, and then pass the bill on to the governor.

Supported by Planned Parenthood-backed Rep. Ashley Carrick (D-Fairbanks), House Bill 17 had pro-life advocates concerned that it would force private insurers to cover contraceptives that can kill unborn babies at the earliest stages of development.

While Carrick claimed that her bill didn’t cover “these types of drugs,” she adamantly opposed amendments that would clearly prohibit them from her bill.

The longstanding dispute over whether some contraceptives can cause abortions, centers on a fundamental disagreement about when a pregnancy has begun. Pro-life advocates generally agree that life (and pregnancy) begins at the moment of conception, a time when some contraceptive drugs can still kill a newly conceived baby before it implants in the mother’s uterus. Pro-abortion activists, however, claim that “pregnancy” does not technically begin until implantation, and therefore any newly conceived baby that dies before that point is not killed by an aborted pregnancy.

During debate over House Bill 17, Rep. David Eastman (R-Wasilla) offered a slew of amendments to prevent healthcare insurers, including Medicaid, from being forced to cover the cost of certain contraceptive drugs that have been shown to cause early abortions (death of the baby before implantation). These were all shot down with bi-partisan votes from many Republicans.

Fully supported by the likes of Planned Parenthood and sponsored by ardent pro-abortion legislators, HB 17 would have allowed for up to a 12-month supply of various forms of contraception.

In a brief letter, Dunleavy offered an explanation for his veto.

“The bill sets the standards under which the State may enforce the coverage requirements for contraceptive methods,” he wrote on Sept. 3. “Contraceptives are widely available, and compelling insurance companies to provide mandatory coverage for a year is bad policy. Accordingly, I have vetoed this bill.”

In the Legislatuer’s final votes on the bill, it passed out of the House with a 26-13 margin that included all Democrats, along with Republicans Thomas Baker, Mike Cronk, Tom McKay, Mike Prax, Justin Ruffridge, Louise Stutes, Jesse Sumner and Stanley Wright. On the Senate side, the bill passed 16-3 with the only opposition coming from Republican Senators Mike Shower, Robb Myer and David Wilson. Sen. Shelley Hughes was excused from the vote.

— Click here to contact Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

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