the US Supreme Court will once again tackle the topic of abortion oral arguments in the abortion pill access case are scheduled for March 26th the decision could put limits on the prescription drug mistone which is used for both abortions and miscarriage care the pill was originally approved more than 20 years ago and accounts for more than half of abortions in the US when used in combination with a second drug progressives say they fear more abortion rights will be taken away in the future and Governor Murphy in his State of the State address earlier this month laid out plans to boost New Jersey status as a so-called abortion Safe Haven calling on lawmakers to pass a bill that'll end out of-pocket costs for the procedure but who will foot the bill senior correspondent Joanna Gagis reports People's Health Care shouldn't be determined by whether or not they can pay out a pocket and I think that for any type of Health Care um people should have access to the care that they need for their health for their love lives for their families and regardless of why they need care or what kind of care they need being able to cover it is equatable to being able to access it Dr Christen Brandy is an abortion provider in New Jersey who's praising Governor Murphy's announcement during his State of the State addressed that his administration will work to remove all co-pays and personal costs associated with abortions provided in New Jersey beyond what insurance companies already cover many folks listening myself included right we might have a $5,000 deductible that we have to hit before our coverage and our health insurance really starts to kick in and make things more affordable so that's where this no cost sharing thing comes into play um it is really for those who are most vulnerable Don Erikson says having this coverage 12 years ago would have had a huge impact when she found out she was pregnant during a dark time in her life I was in um the throws of an opiate addiction um which is one of the reasons why I chose to terminate um I couldn't keep keep myself safe I was lucky my partner paid for half and then I had to find a support person for the other half and it's a vulnerable place to be it's a scary place to be years later Erikson became a lawyer and submitted her abortion story in an amas brief to the US Supreme Court she now volunteers to help support other women in need of abortions and has seen firsthand not everyone has a network and a support system that can either help with the cost or would be trustworthy and safe there is um a number of people who seek abortions because they're in abusive relationships or because of other safety concerns starting last January the state requires that all health insurance benefits plans must include abortion coverage New Jersey is one of 10 other states with such requirements but the only one that still allows for co-pays what New Jersey is doing is actually looking to many peer States um who have already done these things so Maine actually uh just earlier this month the beginning of January um actually began to do this already so no out-of-pocket cost uh no deductibles abortion access Advocates say it would remove barriers for the most economically disadvantaged but opponents say it could leave the rest of us picking up the cost Marie tasy from New Jersey right to life worries it will cause premiums to go up for employers and employees um and also New Jersey is welcoming people from other states there's a big question on whether we be paying for abortions from people from out of state as well we reached out to several Republican legislators for comment but received none tacy says the costs shouldn't fall on already overburden taxpayers people are really suffering in the state and um throughout the country and so we shouldn't be doing anything that's going to put more of a burden on individuals there are a n you know a number of abortion funds that um were aware of that abortion groups have actually um created to pay for people's abortions who can't afford them and they are flush with cash no legislation has been drafted yet but tacy says if the state wants to fully fund maternal Health Care as they claim they should remove co-pays for labor and delivery I'm Joanna Gagis NJ Spotlight News [Music]