Statement
‘Another Appalling, Unacceptable Attack on Women’s Health’: MomsRising Leader Condemns Trump’s Proposed Rule to Gut the Affordable Care Act’s Guarantee of Birth Control Coverage
October 6, 2017
Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996
Statement from Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, executive director and CEO of MomsRising, a national online and on-the-ground organization of more than 1 million mothers and their families, on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ decision to eliminate the guarantee for no co-pay contraception
“Being able to determine how many children to have and when to have them is a key part of women’s freedom and economic prosperity. To undermine coverage for birth control for millions of women, as the rules released today do, is to do nothing short of undermining women’s freedom. Make no mistake, the Trump administration is actively closing doors for women and moms by eliminating coverage for birth control and through other actions. Ninety-nine percent of women use birth control, including the majority of moms. Birth control has been nothing short of revolutionary by allowing women to choose how many children to have and when to have them, which has opened doors for women everywhere.
“The Trump administration continued its assault on women’s health today with its proposed rules to eliminate the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) guarantee of co-pay free birth control. If they stand, these rules would undermine access to contraception—which is basic health care—for 62 million women. It is an appalling, unacceptable attack on women’s health.
“Women must be able to make reproductive health care decisions without intrusion from bosses or politicians. These proposed rules demonstrate fundamental disrespect for women and mothers and utter disregard for our health. They must not stand.
“Nearly nine in ten women of reproductive age use contraception at some point in their lives, including the vast majority of married women and moms. Expanded access to birth control has helped women lead healthier lives, support themselves, and take advantage of opportunities to further their education and hold jobs. Gutting the ACA’s birth control benefit would make contraceptives less affordable and less accessible, undermining all of this progress and threatening the health and wellbeing of millions. Low-income families and those who live in rural and medically underserved communities would suffer the most, with a compounding impact in Black, Latinx, Asian, Native American, and LGBTQ+ communities.
“This move is just the latest in a string of shocking and callous assaults on women’s health care by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans. Its failed attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, take health insurance away from tens of millions of people, end Medicaid as we know it, deny women maternity coverage, defund Planned Parenthood, and eliminate consumer protections that women rely on have been met with an unprecedented groundswell of resistance all across the country. This effort to take away coverage for birth control will as well.”