The Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to give employers moral and religious exemptions to refuse no-cost birth control under the Affordable Care Act. Two liberals sided with the conservatives in dealing a blow to the ACA’s contraception mandate. This case looked at whether employers with religious or moral objections can opt-out.
The ruling is a victory for the administration’s plan to greatly expand the kinds of employers who can cite religious or moral objections in declining to include contraceptives in their health care plans.
Up to 126,000 women nationwide would lose birth control coverage under the plan, the government estimated. Planned Parenthood said nearly nine in 10 women seek contraceptive care of some kind during their lifetimes.
Here is reaction from Brigitte Amiri, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project:
“This is a shameful decision from the Supreme Court. Religious liberty is a fundamental right, but it does not grant a license to discriminate. Denying employees and students coverage for birth control will limit their ability to decide whether and when to have a family and make other decisions about their futures. And it will exacerbate existing inequalities, falling hardest on people with the fewest resources and people of color.
