The Feminist Majority has grave concerns about the leaked draft of the Trump administration’s interim final rule that would add “exemptions for religious beliefs and moral convictions” for all employers–whether profit making or non-profit making—to the contraception mandate of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
Under this rule, the draft of which appeared in Vox, the Trump administration would allow all employers the ability to deny birth control coverage for their employees and their families. The Affordable Care Act mandate requiring employers to provide health insurance plans that cover birth control without copays or deductibles would still exist, but this rule would create a massive loophole that could deny women the right to make their own healthcare decisions.
Statement from Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal:
“If this draft becomes reality, then the Trump administration would have once again shown its total disregard for women’s health.
Millions of women rely on access to no-copay and no-deductible birth control through their employers, and for students through their universities. Broadening the exemption would allow any employer with a “moral” objection to opt out of coverage, sending a clear message to women in America: your body does not belong to you.
The President and his administration seem to be pursuing this action at the same time that Republicans in Congress are trying to eliminate the requirement in the Affordable Care Act that health insurance must cover maternity care. The GOP might be insisting they are not waging a War on Women, but the facts prove otherwise.”
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