Judges block Trump administration’s changes to rules on offering birth control

Outgoing Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan had a final victory as she closed her four-term tenure in office when a judge ruled in favor of 13 states in a multi-state lawsuit to block Trump administration rules that would allow more employers to opt out of providing women with no-cost birth control.

A U.S. judge in California on Sunday blocked the rules, which would allow more employers to opt out of providing women with no-cost birth control, from taking effect in Illinois, 12 other states and Washington, D.C. On Monday, a federal judge in Philadelphia put a nationwide hold on the rules, citing the potential harm to states.

It was California Judge Haywood Gilliam on Sunday who granted a request for a preliminary injunction by the 13 states and Washington, D.C. The plaintiffs sought to prevent the rules from taking effect as scheduled on Monday.

The changes would allow more employers, including publicly traded companies, to opt out of providing no-cost contraceptive coverage to women by claiming religious objections. Some private employers could also object on moral grounds. “Health care decisions should be made by a woman and her doctor — not by her employer or the government,” Madigan said in a statement this month.

Illinois argued that women who lose insurerprovided contraceptive coverage would likely need to enroll in the state’s Medicaid program, and that there could potentially be greater costs resulting in an increased rate of unintended pregnancies.