California, Other States Seek to Stop New Rules that Limit Access to Free Contraception

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California together with 13 other states is seeking to stop the Trump administration’s new final rules that will limit access to free contraception.

On Wednesday, California state Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed an amended complaint and motion for preliminary injunction against the implementation of the federal Contraception Exemption Rules.

Under the rules, employers (except publicly-traded corporations) and insurers with moral or religious objections may refuse contraception coverage for their female employees and dependents.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its implementing regulations require all employers and insurers to cover all FDA-approved contraceptive methods at no cost. Since the implementation of ACA’s contraceptive-coverage requirement in 2012, over 62.8 million women nationwide benefited and saved $1.4 billion annually.

The Trump Administration is set to enforce its Contraception Exemption Rules on January 14.

An effort to “trample women’s rights and access to care”

In a statement, Becerra said “the Trump Administration is continuing to trample on women’s rights and access to care with this illegal final rule. “Women across the country have benefited from the ACA’s cost-free birth control. California will continue the fight against any actions that attempt to restrict women’s access to affordable, quality healthcare.”