Birth control under attack from Trump

In the weeks and months after Donald Trump’s election as US president last November, demand for intrauterine devices (IUDs) increased 900%, according to Planned Parenthood. Many women were afraid they might lose their access to healthcare after Trump’s inauguration day.

There was good reason for panic. Republican leaders in Congress don’t seem keen on giving up their attempts at repealing the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, which expanded free access to birth control to millions of women by making it an essential health insurance benefit.

More to the point, the Trump administration has drafted a rule that would significantly dial back the contraception coverage mandate in the law by allowing employers and insurers to claim an exemption based on moral or religious objections. The draft was leaked in late May, but the regulation could be finalised and enacted at any moment.

That’s why states such as Massachusetts have been quick to fight back, putting laws on the books to protect and even expand access to contraception.

Thanks to Obamacare’s contraceptive benefit, more than 55-million US women now have access to free birth control. “Between 2011 and 2014, out-of-pocket spending for IUDs fell 81%, likely contributing to a 34% increase in the number of Massachusetts women using them,” said Dr Jennifer Childs-Roshak, president of Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts, citing a report from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission.

Republicans on the national level will continue their egregious attack on women’s health, making the political resistance by states more important than ever. Barriers to birth control disproportionately hurt the poor, and it’s up to Massachusetts legislators to pass legislation to protect them. Boston, October 6.