Draft Bill Rolls Back Birth Control Coverage
The rollback will affect at least 55 million women in the US
Officials have drafted a bill that will roll back a federal requirement for religious employers to provide birth control to their employees under their health insurance schemes.
The draft bill is in response to Trump’s directive on May 4th to three cabinet departments to review and amend laws surrounding “conscience-based objections to the preventive-care mandate.”
According to NY Times, “the order cites a section of the Affordable Care Act that refers specifically to preventive services for women.”
Should the bill become law, at least 55 million women in America will be affected. The bill is strongly backed by Republicans, while Democratic leaders have vowed to fight it.
In a letter to White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, 14 Democratic Senators asked for a shutdown of the bill. “Women saved more than $1.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs for birth control in 2013 alone,” the letter stated. “Access to affordable preventive services, including contraception, is a critical part of women’s health care.”
The bill is also supported by religious organizations that believe the current law makes them complicit to an act they believe to be sinful.
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