Michigan Passes 'Rape Insurance' Law, Bans Most Abortion Insurance Coverage

On Wednesday, Michigan lawmakers passed a controversial bill that bans insurance plans in the state from covering abortion unless the woman's life is in danger. 

The law, which is being deemed the "rape insurance" law, will take effect in March. The law will force women and employers to purchase a separate abortion rider if they want the procedure covered, even in cases of rape and incest, The Huffington Post reports. 

Supporters of the bill, which is called the "Abortion Insurance Opt-Out Act," say it allows those who are opposed to abortion to avoid paying into a plan that covers the procedure. Opponents have called it the "rape insurance" bill because it would force some women to anticipate the possibility of being raped if they purchase the abortion insurance proactively. 

"This tells women who were raped ... that they should have thought ahead and planned for it," said Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, during debates. "Make no mistake, this is anything but a citizens' initiative. It's a special interest group's perverted dream come true."

The measure was passed by the Michigan State Legislature last year, but Republican Governor Rick Snyder vetoed the law, saying he does not "believe it is appropriate to tell a woman who becomes pregnant due to a rape that she needed to select elective insurance coverage."

The anti-abortion group Right to Life Michigan collected more than 300,000 signatures on a petition this year to force a second vote on the bill. The bill has been passed by both chambers, and can now become a law, even without the governor's signature. 

Citing research organization the Guttmacher Institute, the New York Times reported that more than 80 percent of private insurance plans cover abortions. Eight states have passed similar laws banning insurance companies to cover abortion, and only two of them have allowed women to have access to the abortion rider.  

Many female Democratic lawmakers made emotional arguments on Wednesday to oppose the bill, telling personal stories of miscarriages and abortion.

Democratic State Rep. David Knezek also said the measure was misogynistic. "This body made up of 80 percent men will make a decision that will impact 100 percent of women," he said.