Planned Parenthood Action Fund of NJ applauds federal decision to support birth control access

TRENTON, NJ – Yesterday, a federal court in Pennsylvania entered a nationwide injunction blocking the Trump-Pence administration’s latest attack on affordable birth control. This decision, made in response to litigation brought forward by New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and the State of Pennsylvania, temporarily blocks the Administration’s sweeping new rules that would eliminate free birth control coverage. These rules would allow virtually any employer or university to refuse birth control coverage on the basis of their moral or religious objection.

“This is a win for women, but we still have work to counter the Trump-Pence administration’s efforts to make reproductive health difficult or impossible to access,” said Triste Brooks of Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey. “The Affordable Care Act’s no co-pay birth control benefit is recognition that the vast majority of women use birth control and that is an important part of basic health care.”

“The ability to make decisions about having children is deeply personal and one of the most fundamental human rights,” said Brooks. “The federal courts recognize this. The Trump-Pence Administration is out of step.”

This decision comes as the administration is soon expected to advance a “gag rule” policy designed to dismantle Title X —  the nation’s long-standing program for affordable birth control, and the one program meant to ensure that people with low incomes have access to birth control, STI testing, cancer screenings, and other essential reproductive health care. Planned Parenthood health centers across the country serve 41 percent of the four million patients who receive care through this program.