A woman raped in Florida was unable to get health insurance because the insurance company said the month of anti-AIDS medication prescribed by her doctor as a preventative measure “raised too many medical questions.”

In a 2008 study, the National Women’s Law Center found that only 12% of health insurance policies include comprehensive maternity coverage. Another 9% of plans provide coverage for maternity care that is not comprehensive.” Explains Anthem Blue Cross: “Having a child is a matter of choice. Dealing with an adult onset illness, such as diabetes, heart disease breast or prostate cancer, is not a matter of choice.”

Many insurance plans will cover Viagra, the drug that helps men with erectile disfunction, but refuse to cover birth control pills. Their rationale: Viagara is used to treat a medical condition, while birth control is a “lifestyle choice.”

Many insurance plans consider having had a c-section to deliver a child a “pre-existing condition” that can disqualify you from receiving medical insurance. For example, the Golden Rule Insurance Company, a subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare, denied coverage to a Colorado woman because she had given birth by Caesarean section. “A letter from the company explained that if she had been sterilized after the Caesarean, or if she were over 40 and had given birth two or more years before applying, she might have qualified.”

Insurers in D.C. and the following eight states are allowed to deny coverage to domestic violence survivors: Idaho, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The other news here is what does this tell us about the states listed. They haven't made it to the 20th century yet.