NWLC Responds to Court Ruling on Trump Administration’s Birth Control Exemption Rules

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, a federal district court in Pennsylvania struck down the Trump administration’s 2018 rules that allowed virtually any employer or university to claim a religious or moral objection to exempt itself from the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that health care plans cover contraception without cost sharing. 

In Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court allowed these rules to be in effect while litigation continued in the lower courts, which jeopardized access to birth control nationwide. In today’s ruling, the court determined that the Trump rules were unjustified, irrational, and violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

“Birth control is essential to people’s health and economic security,” said Gretchen Borchelt, vice president for reproductive rights and health at NWLC. “In a country where abortion access is increasingly restricted and state and federal-level attacks on birth control are escalating, this ruling helps protect against harmful denials of the coverage that is guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act. Everyone deserves birth control coverage, no matter where they work or go to school. This victory ensures that, at least for now, employees and students — not employers or universities —  can make their own decisions about their health, their futures, and their lives. We know the attacks will not stop here, but neither will we. NWLC will continue to fight to defend and expand access to contraception for everyone.”