The proposal is aimed at protecting woman who live in states where abortion is illegal who travel out of state to have the procedure done - something thousands of women are already doing, research shows. It is unclear whether the proposed rule would actually stifle criminal investigations. The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) covers most health insurance and other company benefit plans and generally preempts state laws on abortion-related coverage. But it does not prevent states from prosecuting plans, sponsors, administrators and their employees in all instances. Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw and Heather Timmons; Editing by Heather Timmons and Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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