U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand cosponsored legislation to protect access to birth control and prevent the Trump administration from allowing employers to deny birth control coverage based on religious or moral opposition. Following a Supreme Court decision upholding the administration’s rule to undermine access to birth control, Gillibrand and her Senate colleagues are urging the Senate to pass the Protect Access to Birth Control Act. The Protect Access to Birth Control Act would block Trump’s rule that lets employers with religious or moral objections opt out of birth control coverage under the Affordable Care Act. As a result, more than 120,000 women could lose their contraceptive coverage.
“This is yet another blatant attempt by the Trump administration to strip women of their health care and this legislation is key to safeguarding women’s ability to make their own health care decisions,” said Senator Gillibrand. “This rule will cause thousands of women to lose their access to vital contraception — especially those who already face barriers to care, including low-wage workers, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Congress must make clear that no employer can use their personal beliefs to limit the health care services their employees have access to. We must address the damage done by the latest Supreme Court decision and pass the Protect Access to Birth Control Act now.”
The legislation was led by U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and U.S. Senator Bob Casey, (D-PA). It has been supported by National Women’s Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Reproductive Rights, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Guttmacher Institute, Power To Decide, the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, Physicians for Reproductive Health and the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum.
Full text of the legislation can be found here.