WASHINGTON—Today the Trump administration rolled back the federal requirement that employers’ health insurance plans cover contraception, which could cause hundreds of thousands of women to lose access to birth control coverage. According to news reports, one of the new administration rules “offers an exemption to any employer or insurer that objects to covering contraceptive services ‘based on its sincerely held religious beliefs.’”

People For the American Way Senior Policy Advisor Dawn Huckelbridge released the following statement:

“This is an outrageous attack on women, carried out by an administration that has been nothing but hostile to women’s rights since day one.

“Birth control is critical not only to women’s health, but also to our economic security, educational opportunities, and basic equality. Women have to be in control of our own lives—and that includes choosing when, or if, to have children. The fact that women are still fighting for birth control in 2017 shows just how eager this administration has been to turn back the clock on our fundamental rights.

“True religious liberty is a constitutionally-protected value that says we are all free to practice any religion we choose. It is not the ability to use religion as a weapon to harm others. And it is certainly not an excuse to take away someone else’s access to needed health care.”

People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and defend constitutional values including free expression, religious liberty, equal justice under the law, and the right to meaningfully participate in our democracy.

###