05.06.2020
Media

The Supreme Court Must Protect Birth Control Access

On May 6th, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the consolidated case of Trump v. Pennsylvania and Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania. The cases are a challenge to the Trump-Pence administration’s rules that would allow virtually any employer or university to be exempted from the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that health plans cover birth control without out-of-pocket costs.

Such an exemption undoes one of the achievements of the Affordable Care Act and leaves employees and students at a disadvantage. Young people deserve health care that covers all their needs, and that includes contraception. 

“Young people have the right to lead healthy lives, and planning if and when you wish to become a parent is a crucial part of that. And worrying about how to pay for their birth control is the last thing young people need right now,” said Rebecca Thimmesch, Free the Pill Campaign Manager.  “Your access to birth control shouldn’t depend on the ‘objections’  of your employer or your school. We need to make birth control easier, not harder, to access.”

This administration has continuously used the guise of religious freedom as a vehicle for trampling on young people’s access and rights, and this is no different. Time and time again, they have created regulations that make it harder for people to have their health care needs met, and it’s especially true for access to reproductive care. It is unacceptable that the Trump administration continues down this path, making access to health care further out of reach for so many people, including young people. 

In the current moment, we see how the country’s grossly uneven health care system makes our collective health worse. The Trump administration’s exemptions on birth control will only exacerbate that problem. We hope to see the Supreme Court make the right decision.