Dawn Ericksen was struggling with an opioid addiction a dozen years ago when she got pregnant and realized she couldn’t keep herself safe, much less a baby. Working part-time, she couldn’t afford the hundreds of dollars she would need for an abortion and had to turn to a trusted friend to help cover the costs.
Ericksen, a 43-year-old attorney from southern New Jersey who has been sober for 10 years, is now speaking out about her experience because she thinks women’s voices need to be heard.
“I knew it was the right choice for me. But at the same time, that doesn’t mean I want to shout it from the rooftops and tell everybody, hey, I’m in a tough position,” she said. “It wasn’t easy to kind of come hat in hand, so to speak, and say ‘This is something I need help with.’ It’s a very vulnerable place to be.”
Experiences like Ericksen’s are at the center of a renewed effort by New Jersey’s Democratic-led Legislature and governor, Phil Murphy, to bar women from having to pay out-of-pocket costs to get an abortion. New Jersey is among a group of Democratic-led states that are moving to reduce the barriers to abortion, even as many conservative states have been severely restricting a woman’s right to end her pregnancy since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Good. It should be covered. All healthcare should be covered.
All necessary healthcare. I would call this necessary. If someone needs insulin, that’s necessary. If someone with xy chromosomes and testosterone well within normal range wants more testosterone so they can be better at sports, I don’t want taxes to cover that. There’s a lot of grey area and I’m generally ok with most of the grey area, but if something isn’t recommended by doctors in the first place it probably isn’t worth my tax money.
that thumbnail had me thinking; ‘so thats what senator bill murray would look like’
Legislative Republicans viewed the governor’s proposal skeptically. Assembly Minority Leader John DiMaio said his party is focused on “pocketbook issues” that affect all residents, and GOP state Sen. Declan O’Scanlon called it a “red herring” issue because the law protects abortion in the state.
You would think an issue that affects half the population of a state would be a pocketbook issue that merits attention. Republicans shouldn’t be surprised they are losing women’s votes when they think affordable health care for women is a “red herring”.
$2000…after insurance. That’s ridiculous.
Good. Much cheaper than dealing with all the expenses of unwanted children, not to mention their misery.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Dawn Ericksen was struggling with an opioid addiction a dozen years ago when she got pregnant and realized she couldn’t keep herself safe, much less a baby.
Experiences like Ericksen’s are at the center of a renewed effort by New Jersey’s Democratic-led Legislature and governor, Phil Murphy, to bar women from having to pay out-of-pocket costs to get an abortion.
“We don’t want those having to make the decision between paying for groceries or having the care that they need,” said Kaitlyn Wojtowicz, an executive with Planned Parenthood Action of New Jersey, which supports the legislation.
The second-term governor is pushing for the legislation after his party expanded its majority in the Legislature and in a presidential year in which Democrats hope that the abortion issue will buoy their candidates nationwide.
It also coincides with a yearslong effort to expand abortion services in the state, as Democratic officials sought to blunt the impact of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe.
The leaders of both legislative chambers support abortion rights, but it’s unknown how much passing the law would cost, how it would be funded and whether it could cause insurance premiums to rise.
The original article contains 732 words, the summary contains 197 words. Saved 73%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
