Abortions would only be covered in circumstances when a woman’s life or health was at risk under a bill the Senate passed Thursday.

The bill, which limits coverage of some abortions under federal health care law, has spurred conflicting responses from party members and invested organizations.

Introduced by Senator Rich Zipperer, R-Pewaukee, on Thursday, the bill limits abortion coverage to cases where the woman’s life or health is threatened. This also includes instances of sexual assault or incest.

“These exchanges are required to provide abortion coverage unless states specifically choose not to,” Zipperer said in a statement.

The Federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, passed by US Congress in 2010, offers health plans through state exchanges, a system in which individuals and small businesses can shop for insurance coverage.

Under the federal law, states are allowed to opt-out of the abortion coverage, the statement said.

“If the Legislature does not act and if the federal law is not overturned or repealed, taxpayers in Wisconsin will be forced to subsidize elective abortions,” Zipperer said.

Andrew Welhouse, spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, said now that the bill has passed in the Senate, it will move on to hearings in the Assembly.

Zipperer said the bill defends Wisconsin law, which states that taxpayers are not required to fund state abortion.

This is in accordance with the federal law’s opt-out option.

“If we do choose to act, we can prevent federal law from dictating changes in our state and make clear that this Legislature will not force taxpayers to fund abortions,” Zipperer said.

Barbara Lyons, Executive Director of pro-life organization Wisconsin Right to Life, said the organization supports the bill.

Lyons said she does not believe individual abortion rights should be protected under federal law. In addition, she said those affected by the reduced abortion coverage are not more likely to have abortions.

“Statistics show that when you have to pay for abortions, there are less of them,” Lyons said.

Jay Heck, Executive Director of political watchdog group Common Cause in Wisconsin, said there is no evidence to say that the bill will change people’s behavior regarding the decision to get an abortion.

He said the bill could prevent some from receiving the health care benefits they deserve.

“This bill is a further denial of some health care to those who most need it,” Heck said.

Heck said that people least able to afford doctors or those who are poorly informed about alternatives to pregnancy would be most affected by this bill.

“A wealthy individual has much greater power to decide what to do in case of a pregnancy,” Heck said.

Welhouse also said the Republicans were focusing primarily on the job bills that passed in this session.

There is, however, disagreement over the attention given to jobs and job-creation legislature. Heck said Zipperer’s bill has nothing to do with the job creation promised by Gov. Scott Walker’s administration.

“This bill is so far off-base that it’s embarrassing,” Heck said.

Abortion is a divisive issue that should be left for families, not legislators, to discuss, Heck said