Pennsylvania Judge Blocks Trump's Attempt to Limit Birth Control Access

A woman judge blocked Trump’s attempt to limit birth control access.

A new policy limiting access to birth control went into effect on January 14, but federal judge Wendy Beetlestone issued a nationwide injunction the same day.

“The states’ harm is not merely speculative; it is actual and imminent,” she explained in a statement. “The final rules estimate that at least 70,500 women will lose coverage.”

The Trump administration announced new rules on October 2017 that allow employers to deny insurance coverage for birth control if they have religious or moral objections to providing it. The regulations challenged a federal requirement under the Affordable Care Act, which mandates employers include birth control in employees’ health insurance plans.

A federal judge in California had previously blocked the rules in the 13 states that challenged it in court, including California, Delaware, Maryland, New York, Virginia, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington state, and the District of Columbia.

Within 24 hours on the day the policy went into effect, Judge Beetlestone of Pennsylvania issued a nationwide injunction.

Women use birth control for a variety of reasons and 58% of women using the pill rely on it, at least in part, for something other than pregnancy prevention.

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