Senate committee advances bill to ban insurance for abortion

Intro:	Less than 24 hours after the U.S. House of Representatives passed its landmark piece of healthcare reform legislation, a state Senate committee voted to advance a bill imposing further restrictions on abortion insurance coverage.
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Wrap: The federal bill passed Sunday did not include an all-out ban on public funding for abortions.

Instead, President Barack Obama promised to issue an executive order taking that action.

St. Charles County Republican Senator Scott Rupp (ROOP) said Monday that the executive order makes his bill to expand Missouri's ban on abortion insurance coverage even more relevant.

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Description: "The executive order that was supposed to fix this is not worth the paper it's printed on. The Supreme Court has said that executive order cannot trump law and the law says that it has to be covered. So states have to enact this unless the do want to subsidize abortion."

Rupp's bill passed the committee. He says "the support is there" to carry it through the Senate.

From the state Capitol, I'm Rebecca Berg.

Intro:	Less than a day after the U.S. House of Representatives passed its historic healthcare reform legislation, state senators pushed an anti-abortion bill through committee.
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Wrap: The committee meeting lasted barely an hour.

But it was plenty of time for one senator to have his bill heard and passed.

The bill would ban optional insurance coverage for abortions in Missouri, where abortions are already not allowed coverage in larger, non-optional insurance policies.

And as the chair of the Insurance Committee, St. Charles County Republican Senator Scott Rupp (ROOP) had no trouble pushing his agenda.

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Description: "We need to enact this opt-out provision to continue the longstanding tradition in Missouri that we do not use public funds to subsidize abortion coverages."

The timing of the vote, only one day after the passage of federal healthcare legislation, was a coincidence.

From the state Capitol, I'm Rebecca Berg.

Intro:	One day after the passage of federal healthcare reform legislation, some expressed concern about a bill to further restrict abortion insurance coverage in Missouri.
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Wrap: The bill would prohibit purchasing optional insurance coverage for abortions.

Planned Parenthood spokesperson Michelle Trupiano said the legislation was one example of government overstepping its boundaries.

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Description: "And the bottom line is that women and their families should be making these decisions and not the government."

Trupiano said the measure would make the procedure nearly impossible for low-income women.

The bill passed. It would extend current state law, which bans abortion coverage in larger health insurance plans.

From the state Capitol, I'm Rebecca Berg.