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Kelly Bill Defines ''Medically Necessary'' Abortion

(JUNEAU) - A bill defining the term "medically necessary" as it relates to state funding of abortions has passed the Senate floor.

Sponsored by Sen. Pete Kelly (R-Fairbanks), Senate Bill 364 will help curb the potential for fraud and abuse of state funds for on-demand abortions, by more clearly defining the term "medically necessary."

"Most Alaskans agree it is inappropriate to use state funds to provide on-demand abortions," said Kelly. "Unfortunately under our current system an abortion doctor can deem nearly anything as medically necessary and have the state pay for it, including just being "stressed out" over being pregnant."

Kelly's office has received reports about an inordinately large number of young women receiving multiple "medically necessary abortions," and having the cost picked p by the state, costs which often include airline passage for two, hotel stays and ground transportation.

Citing figures from the state of Michigan, which keeps close track of abortions performed in their state of more than 9 million people, only 33 out of the 26,000-plus abortions performed in that state last year were deemed "medically necessary." Kelly compares this figure to Alaska, which has a population of 600,000, but performed roughly 600 state funded abortions deemed "medically necessary."

"I am not sure why the Centers for Disease Control is not up here with gas masks and rubber suits trying to figure out why women in this state can't be pregnant here without having some horrible medical problems," Kelly mused. "The fact is women aren't having medical problems, we just have a regulation that is too broad, which allows women to get state-funded abortions that are elective under the guise of medical problems."

With passage of SB 364 the Department of Health and Social Services will finally have clear guidelines on what constitutes a medically necessary abortion. The current federal standard on this issue is the "Hyde Amendment," which only allows the use of Medicare funds for abortion when the pregnancy puts the mother's life at risk or if the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest. SB 364 would expand on the federal standard to provide guidelines on medical conditions in which state funds may be used to terminate a pregnancy.

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