Texas Senate Bill 575 was voted out of the House’s State Affairs Committee late Saturday and put on track for a floor vote; and in exchange, Republican Rep. Jon Stickland pulled down an amendment to a sunset bill on the Health and Human Services Commission that would ban abortions after 20 weeks even in situations where a fetus has severe abnormalities.
The senate bill, filed by Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, prohibits elective abortion coverage under plans purchased through the insurance marketplace set under by the federal government as part of the Affordable Care Act
The bill also would keep private insurers from offering coverage of elective abortions in standard plans. Women would need to purchase supplemental insurance to cover abortions.