Public Funding
States can use their own funds to provide medically necessary abortions to their Medicaid beneficiaries, many of whom are denied coverage of abortions due to the Hyde Amendment. Enacted in 1977, this amendment is a federal law which prohibits the use of federal Medicaid funds to cover abortion except in cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, or the life of the woman is endangered.1 Using states’ own funds to provide this access is critical for many low-income women.
The Affordable Care Act does not affect federal or state Medicaid funding for abortion. States must continue to provide funding for abortions covered under Medicaid – those in cases of life endangerment, rape and incest. States that provide funding for coverage of abortion services beyond those exceptions may continue to do so.
Does the state provide funding for abortion as it does for other generally covered services?
States can pay for abortion services for low-income women with their own funds. States receive a "meets policy" if they provide funding for abortions for these women under all or most circumstances. States receive a "limited policy" if the provision of state-funded abortion is contingent on certain health circumstances. States receive a "no policy" if they only provide funding as mandated by federal law.
| State | Strength of Policy | Change from 2007 |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No Policy | Same |
| Alaska | Meets Policy | Same |
| Arizona | Meets Policy | Same |
| Arkansas | No Policy | Same |
| California | Meets Policy | Same |
| Colorado | No Policy | Same |
| Connecticut | Meets Policy | Same |
| Delaware | No Policy | Same |
| District of Columbia | Meets Policy | Better |
| Florida | No Policy | Same |
| Georgia | No Policy | Same |
| Hawaii | Meets Policy | Same |
| Idaho | No Policy | Same |
| Illinois | Meets Policy | Same |
| Indiana | Limited Policy | Same |
| Iowa | Limited Policy | Same |
| Kansas | No Policy | Same |
| Kentucky | No Policy | Same |
| Louisiana | No Policy | Same |
| Maine | No Policy | Same |
| Maryland | Meets Policy | Same |
| Massachusetts | Meets Policy | Same |
| Michigan | No Policy | Same |
| Minnesota | Meets Policy | Same |
| Mississippi | Limited Policy | Same |
| Missouri | No Policy | Same |
| Montana | Meets Policy | Same |
| Nebraska | No Policy | Same |
| Nevada | No Policy | Same |
| New Hampshire | No Policy | Same |
| New Jersey | Meets Policy | Same |
| New Mexico | Meets Policy | Same |
| New York | Meets Policy | Same |
| North Carolina | No Policy | Same |
| North Dakota | No Policy | Same |
| Ohio | No Policy | Same |
| Oklahoma | No Policy | Same |
| Oregon | Meets Policy | Same |
| Pennsylvania | No Policy | Same |
| Rhode Island | No Policy | Same |
| South Carolina | No Policy | Same |
| South Dakota 2 | No Policy | Same |
| Tennessee | No Policy | Same |
| Texas | No Policy | Same |
| Utah | Limited Policy | Same |
| Vermont | Meets Policy | Same |
| Virginia | Limited Policy | Same |
| Washington | Meets Policy | Same |
| West Virginia | Meets Policy | Same |
| Wisconsin | Limited Policy | Same |
| Wyoming | No Policy | Same |
Data Source: 1) Unpublished National Women's Law Center data, 2010; 2) Guttmacher Institute, "State Policies in Brief: Emergency Contraception,” September 2010, available at
http://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/spibs/spib_EC.pdf, accessed September 8, 2010.
Footnotes
1 Making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes, Pub. L. No. 111-117 (2009).
2 South Dakota is in violation of federal law because it pays for abortions only when the woman’s life is in danger.
