A step backwards for access to contraception in the United States. On Friday, October 6, the Trump administration ended a provision of the “Obamacare” law. The latter required employers to cover contraception in the health coverage of their employees and had been the subject of many criticisms.
The measure repealing this provision was adopted in the name of religious and moral convictions. It extends an exemption, which was already granted to religious institutions, to all commercial enterprises. “The President believes that the freedom to practice one’s faith is a fundamental right in this country and that is what it is about today,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters.
An initiative hailed in the camp of the Republicans, in particular by the Senator of Texas, Ted Cruz who declared on Facebook that the administration had “put an end to a provision which violated the tradition of religious freedom of our country”.
“A contempt for the health and lives of women”
On the other hand, on the side of the Democrats, family planning, associations for the rights of women, gynecologists and even citizens, this measure is unacceptable. The hashtag #HandsOffMyBC (# Touchepasàmacontraception) was among the most used on Twitter.
For family planning, this backtracking is an act of sexism. “Targeting 62.4 million women’s access to contraception shows the Trump administration’s disregard for women’s health and lives,” the organization said on Twitter.
According to the Trump administration, 120,000 women would be affected by this change, based on the number of legal appeals filed against Obama’s measure. But a study carried out one year ago that Obama’s measure would allow 55.6 million women to benefit from free contraceptive measures.
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