In Advance of Supreme Court Arguments Tuesday, Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Breaks Down the Basics of the Birth Control Benefit in Animated Whiteboard Video

You can watch the video here: http://bit.ly/1gA6Nos

You can read 50 inspiring birth control stories here: http://bit.ly/1elblms

WASHINGTON, DC -- In an animated whiteboard video released today, Planned Parenthood Action Fund president Cecile Richards breaks down the health and economic benefits of birth control and the high stakes of the cases that will be heard by the Supreme Court on March 25. The outcome of those cases could roll back access to the Affordable Care Act’s birth control benefit, which guarantees women access to the full-range of birth control methods without a copay as part of all insurance plans.

You can watch the video here: http://bit.ly/1gA6Nos

The cases before the Supreme Court, Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius, could jeopardize access to affordable birth control for millions of women. They could also set a dangerous precedent, sparking more Arizona-style discrimination bills and lawsuits by other businesses seeking to deny employees and customers the health benefits and other services they are entitled to under the law, all based on the business owners’ personal beliefs. These corporations wrongly believe emergency contraception is a form of abortion — further illustrating why health care decisions should be between a woman and her doctor, without the involvement of her boss.

At the end of the video, Richards says: “If you agree that the decision to use birth control should be made between a woman and her doctor — and that NO employer should be able to take that right away, please visit www.PlannedParenthoodAction.org.”

To demonstrate that birth control is a fundamental part of women’s lives, Planned Parenthood Action Fund also released a “Birth Control: We All Benefit” booklet which includes 50 inspiring stories from women across the United States — from Anchorage, Alaska, to Salina, Kansas, to Panama City Beach, Florida.

You can read the 50 “Birth Control: We All Benefit” stories from 50 states here:http://bit.ly/1elblms

Background:

After decades of discriminatory coverage by insurance companies, the birth control benefit requires all insurance policies to cover birth control with no out-of-pocket cost to women — rightly categorizing birth control as part of women’s basic preventive care. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 27 million women nationally are already eligible for this benefit. When the law is fully implemented, 47 million women nationally will have access to no-copay birth control thanks to the Affordable Care Act.

Birth control is tremendously important to women for all kinds of reasons, including the need to control certain medical conditions and to plan our families. Under the birth control benefit, women have access to this important preventive care at no cost.

The wide availability of birth control has been an enormous benefit for countless women and their families — enabling them to support themselves financially, complete their education, and plan their families and have children when they’re ready.
Virtually all (99 percent) American women between the ages of 15-44 who are sexually active have used birth control at some time.
For many women, birth control is used for a host of health care reasons. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 58 percent of birth control pill users cite health benefits as a contributing factor for using the birth control pill, including treating endometriosis, menstrual pain, and menstrual regulation.
Seven in ten Americans believe that health insurance companies should be required to cover the full cost of birth control, just as they do for other preventive services.

You can learn more about the Supreme Court case here: http://bit.ly/1aw9sUx

Video Script:

Birth Control – you’ve probably heard a lot about it lately.

Here’s the good news:

It’s now available for free with no copays, thanks to the Affordable Care Act.
99% of sexually active American women have used birth control at some point.
7 in 10 Americans believe that health insurance companies should be required to cover the full cost of birth control, just as they do for other preventive services.
It enables us to complete our education, support ourselves financially, and plan our families and have children when we’re ready.
Many women use birth control for other health care reasons including treating endometriosis — a leading cause of infertility.
And, access to “no-copay” birth control is just smart for everyone. For every dollar spent on family planning, taxpayers save nearly $6 in public money.

Now here’s the not-so-good news.

The Supreme Court is considering cases from bosses at two for-profit corporations who want to deny their employees access to birth control.
If the court rules in their favor, it would mean that any boss could take away our insurance coverage for birth control — based on their own personal beliefs.
The outcome of these cases could take away the coverage that already benefits 27 million women and the 47 million that will benefit when the law is fully implemented. And for some women, that means they will have to go back to paying out of pocket up to $600 a year.

If you agree that the decision to use birth control should be made between a woman and her doctor— and that NO employer should be able to take that right away, please visitwww.PlannedParenthoodAction.org.

For more information, please visit www.PlannedParenthoodAction.org.