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Abortion coverage for Congress under health law?

By Ricardo AlonsoZaldivar
Published August 16, 2013 9:45pm ET
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Abortion coverage for Congress under health law?
FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2011, file photo, Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, It’s an issue lawmakers may not want to have to explain at town hall meetings back home. An attempt to fix a problem with the new health care law has created a situation in which members of Congress and their staffers could gain access to abortion coverage, something that currently is denied to federal employees who get health insurance through the government. "Under this scheme (the government) will be paying the administrative costs," said Smith, author of abortion funding ban for federal employee plans. "It’s a radical deviation and departure from current federal law, and it’s not for all federal employees, but for a subset: Congress. Us." (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg, File) | Harry Hamburg

WASHINGTON (AP) — The politics of the abortion debate are always tricky for lawmakers. They may soon get personal.

An attempt to fix a problem with the national health care law has created a situation in which members of Congress and their staffers could gain access to abortion coverage. That’s a benefit currently denied to them and to all federal employees who get health insurance through the government’s plan.

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