Trump Admin. Rolls Back ObamaCare's Birth-Control Mandate

ola olugbemi | October 6, 2017
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On Friday, the Trump administration removed an Obamacare mandate that required employers to provide at least one method of birth control in their health insurance packages at no cost to the employee.

The initial push came from an executive order signed by President Trump in April that demanded the Department of Health and Human Services look into “conscience-based objections” to the mandate on moral grounds.

The announcement came as a follow-up to a recent May draft on the issue vowing to roll back the mandate on moral and religious grounds.

The original Obamacare mandate only allowed exemptions to its birth control mandate for houses of worship and non-profit religious organizations. Now, exemptions can extend to any employer who disagrees with providing birth control for their employees based on religious or moral beliefs.

The new regulations go in to effect immediately and employers simply need to inform their employees about whether or not they will provide birth control methods.

According to an article from the Washington Post, women’s rights groups and some medical professionals claimed that the administration’s new regulation could result in a higher number of unintended pregnancies.

Conservative groups, on the other hand, have praised the Trump administration's actions as a positive move that acknowledges an employer's religious beliefs.

An article from the Hill quoted Heritage Foundation associate, Melanie Israel, saying:

Americans will remain free to make their own decisions about, and purchase or find coverage for, the drugs and devices at issue in the mandate. And, entities with objections will not be forced to be complicit in choices that would violate their religious or moral convictions.

The new regulation is expected to face fierce litigation from a variety of liberal law centers, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Women’s Law Center.

 

 

 

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