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In this 2014 photo, protesters respond to the hearing of the Supreme Court's ruling on the Hobby Lobby birth control case in the Supreme Court in Washington. A California judge has blocked the implementation of a Trump administration policy that would allow more employers to refuse to offer birth control coverage for religious or other reasons. moral.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
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Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
In this 2014 photo, protesters respond to the hearing of the Supreme Court's ruling on the Hobby Lobby birth control case at the Supreme Court in Washington. A California judge has blocked the implementation of a Trump administration policy that would allow more employers to refuse to offer birth control coverage for children. religious or moral reasons.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
A federal judge blocked a rule of the Trump administration that would dramatically increase the number of employers who could refuse to offer contraceptive coverage for moral or religious reasons.
The policy was to take effect nationwide on Monday, but it was put on hold for 13 states and the District of Columbia, which challenged the rule in court
The Affordable Care Act requires most companies offer free to their employees a health insurance covering birth control approved by the FDA . But Trump has long promised employers to "vigorously" protect their rights to freedom of religion. The Trump administration has therefore developed rules to allow more employers to evade ACA's obligation.
The challengers "raised serious questions on the merits, alleging that the religious exemption and moral exemption were inconsistent with the Women's Health Amendment," wrote Judge Haywood Gilliam, named by President Barack Obama in 2014. The states argued that the new policy "can not be reconciled with the text and purpose of the ACA – which aims at women, do not limit it."
The Women's Health Amendment is the ACA's provision that requires employer-provided health insurance to include free or low-cost birth control coverage. Gilliam said that while he was not blocking Trump's new policy, tens of thousands of women might lose this coverage.
"The law is clear: employers have no reason to interfere in women's health decisions," California Attorney General Xavier. Becerra said in a statement applauding the decision. "The court ruling prevents Trump administration's further attempt to impinge on women's access to basic reproductive care."
The Trump Administration changed the ACA in 2017 to protect the "conscience rights" of employers, allowing them to not give birth. control the coverage. The new policy of the Trump administration was intended to broaden considerably previous religious-based exemptions, which applied only to religious employers. Trump's policy was immediately challenged in court.
The Supreme Court's 2014 ruling Hobby Lobby concluded that private corporations with religious objections could refuse to provide contraceptive coverage. Decision 5-4 decided that these companies "have the right to exercise their religious beliefs even if it means that their beliefs will impose certain restrictions on their employees," reported Nina Totenberg of NPR. Trump's new policy would also allow publicly traded companies to opt out of contraceptive coverage based on religious or moral grounds, the Associated Press reported.
The judge's ruling prevents police from taking effect in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii and Illinois. , Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.
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