By Giselle Alexandra Ormeno
On Wednesday, July 8, the United States Supreme Court ruled on the side of the Trump administration regulation that will allow employers and universities to limit women's access to birth control coverage under the Affordable Care Act due to religious or moral objections.
According to the New York Times, an estimate of 126,000 women will lose their contraceptive coverage from their employer because of this decision.
The heart of the issue is an intense legal battle for nine years over the "contraception mandate," put in place by the Obama administration that required many employers to provide cost-free coverage for birth control.
In the beginning, it was the religious groups sparring with the Obama administration stating that offering contraceptive care to their employees violates their moral beliefs.
Now, it's health organizations, and women advocate groups fighting with the Trump administration that inclines in favor of the religious groups.
The 7-to-2 decision comes as one of several that has made the Supreme Court's rule in support of religious organizations. According to the Washington Post, the court on Wednesday also ruled for faith-based organizations' ability to hire and fire without offending some anti-discrimination laws.
Many religious organizations endorsed and praised the birth control decision. John Bursch, a lawyer with Alliance Defending Freedom, stated that “the government has no business forcing pro-life and religious organizations to provide drugs and devices that can destroy life."
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar stated that the ruling was a significant victory for the Trump administration and displayed its commitment to protecting religious organizations.
The Center for Reproductive Rights stated in a press release on July 9 that the recent ruling will allow schools and employers to deny birth control coverage because religious or moral objections will cause many students and employees to lose coverage.
They continue to state that the new regulations "will harm people in low-wage jobs, students receiving student health insurance, and low-income people of color, who already face disparities in accessing care."
Sources:
Comments