Action Alert: Comment now on Trump’s rule that rolls back ACA birth control coverage

Issue:  The Trump rule that allows a broad group of employers and insurers to opt-out of covering contraceptives based on religious or vague moral objections is now published in the federal register and open for written comments. The rule is riddled with misinformation, as reported in an October 10 Vox article:  “To justify this rollback, the administration wrote pages into the new regulations that challenge well-established research on the health impact of birth control — from whether contraceptives reduce unwanted pregnancies to the harms and benefits of the Pill. Altogether, the case presented against birth control is a stunning distortion of the research on contraception.”

Actions:
To submit electronic comments on this regulation go here.
Written comments can be submitted until December 5, 2017.

Suggested comments:

• The rule goes beyond protecting individual religious liberty and instead will create a public health issue by undermining access to preventive, contraceptive health care.
• As written, the rule would allow employers to selectively reduce their cost of providing such basic services to their employees, according to an ill-defined, and unregulated system based on the ‘moral objections’ of the employer.
• This rule has the potential to impact many thousands of women and will disproportionately harm those who can least afford to assume the cost themselves.
• Contrary to what is stated in the rule, there is research-based evidence that birth control is effective at reducing unplanned pregnancy. (See: New England Journal of Medicine; CDC data on effectiveness of contraceptive methods
• Research refutes the rule’s claim that use of contraceptives increases risky sexual behaviors. (See Choice Study; CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey)
• Finally, the rule exaggerates potential health risks from using birth control.

For More Information:

Follow this link to review the rule: Federal Register
Trump case against birth control distortion of science
Women’s Health Doc says Trump Ignores Birth Control Science
Mr. Trump’s Attack on Birth Control
Trump rule could deny birth control to thousands of women

SIAN Contact Name: Pam Madaio
SIAN Contact Email: seaislandsactionnetwork@gmail.com