When the Missouri House returns from its break, next week, it will likely be returning to final work on a bill called the Missouri Well Women Initiative. It contains much that finds favor in the House, but one potential problem issue is part of it, as well: contraceptive coverage, which is opposed by some pro-life groups. Preliminary approval has already been won, thanks to what Representative Joan Barry of St. Louis, the sponsor, calls a compromise reached between pro-life and pro-choice forces. The bill forces health insurance companies to allow women direct access to their OB/GYNs, to annually notify clients of cancer screenings, and to cover bone density testing for postmenopausal women.
