Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to Create Broad Religious Exemptions to ACA Birth Control Benefit

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling today in Trump v. Pennsylvania that says that the Trump administration is authorized to institute broad exemptions to the birth control benefit of the Affordable Care Act.

With this ruling, employers and universities will be allowed to refuse employees and students contraceptive coverage based on a religious or moral opposition, forcing their employees and students to pay out of pocket for their birth control. It could rob hundreds of thousands of people of their no-cost coverage.

Brigitte Amiri, deputy director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, had the following reaction:

“This is a shameful decision from the Supreme Court. Religious liberty is a fundamental right, but it does not grant a license to discriminate. Denying employees and students coverage for birth control will limit their ability to decide whether and when to have a family and make other decisions about their futures. And it will exacerbate existing inequalities, falling hardest on people with the fewest resources and people of color.

“What’s important to note is that today’s decision is not a mandate that employers and universities drop birth control coverage from their plans. Most employers will continue to provide coverage, and we urge all businesses and schools to do so and stand against this discrimination.”