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The New York Times
R.I. Governor Blocks
Infertility Bill
By AP from
nytimes.com on the Web, July 20, 2007
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Gov. Don
Carcieri has vetoed a bill requiring health insurers to cover infertility
treatments for unmarried people, saying they shouldn't be forced to subsidize
out-of-wedlock births.
The Republican governor, who opposes same-sex marriage and civil unions, warned
that eliminating the marriage restriction would also drive up health care costs.
''As a matter of public policy, the state should be encouraging the birth of
children to two-parent families, not the reverse,'' he said in a written
statement Thursday announcing his Wednesday veto.
Two weeks ago, Carcieri permitted another bill to become law without his
signature that required insurers to increase the age cap on eligible women to 42
from 40. It also required insurers to pay for infertility treatments after a
couple fails to conceive or carry a pregnancy after one year of trying, instead
of two.
But Carcieri balked when Democratic Rep. Edith Ajello's bill went one step
further and eliminated the marriage requirement.
Ajello, a prominent supporter of gay marriage, said her legislation could
benefit heterosexual couples who choose not to wed, lesbian couples barred from
marrying in Rhode Island and single women. She said infertility treatment
can cost as much as $20,000, making it prohibitively expensive without insurance
coverage.
''I do think it's an issue of civil rights, of discrimination, of not looking at
people with an equal eye,'' Ajello said. ''I think we get into a very
potentially dangerous situation when we decide who should have children and who
shouldn't.''
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