How states are fighting to protect your birth control from Donald Trump
We’ve officially made it through 100 days of the Trump administration — and we know, we know, he’s done everything horrible under the sun, from putting someone who wants to make certain types of birth control illegal in charge of a health agency to gutting programs that make it possible for women across the globe to access healthcare.
Americans who believe in equality, freedom, and justice are rising up to say enough is enough. NARAL’s 1.2 million member-activists are working to resist and drive change in their own backyards. We’ve joined together with legislators at every level of government to fight President Trump’s effort to roll back the clock on our rights — and to make sure we make meaningful progress on the road toward equality in spite of his misogynist and dangerous agenda.
One way we’re resisting: by working to protect and expand access to birth control for people across the country. Because we all know that access to birth control is a critical part of fighting for gender equality!
(Want to join the fight? Check out our activist toolkit!)
Here are some ways states are fighting to keep Donald Trump’s hands off your birth control:
Cementing the healthcare law’s birth control coverage policy
Connecticut, DC, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Washington are working to make sure you don’t have to pay out-of-pocket costs for birth control, even if Trump and the GOP succeed in ripping apart our nation’s healthcare law. These states are doing this by codifying the Affordable Care Act’s birth control coverage policy into state law.
The birth control coverage policy requires insurance companies to cover birth control without any additional out-of-pocket costs. This means you don’t have to fork over a co-pay or a deductible when you pick up your pill or get your IUD (among other things). This policy has saved women upwards of $1.4 billion a year, according to a Health Report study — and we would like to go on saving that $1.4 billion, thank you very much.
Requiring insurance providers to cover a broad range of birth control
In Massachusetts, Maine, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Oregon pro-choice advocates and legislators are working to require insurance providers to cover a broad range of birth control, not just certain types or brands.
As it stands, employers and insurance providers can pick and choose what kind of birth control they cover — a certain brand of patch here, a certain type of progesterone-only pill there. By requiring insurance providers to cover a broad range of birth control, these states will make sure a woman and her doctor can choose what’s best for her health and life, not just what’s available.
Making sure women can receive up to 12 months of birth control at one time
Having to go to the pharmacy every month just to get a pack of pills isn’t just inconvenient — if you live in a rural community, don’t have reliable transportation, or work irregular hours, it can be just plain difficult. Legislators in 14 states (IA, MA, ME, MI, MO, MT, NJ, NM, NV, NY, RI, SC, TN, and TX) are working on bills that would let women get up to 12 months of birth control at one time. Virginia has already succeeded in passing such legislation, and similar bills are waiting to be signed by the governors of Colorado and Washington.
A woman shouldn’t have to face an unintended pregnancy just because she couldn’t make it to the pharmacy. For birth control to be effective, consistency is essential. That’s why these laws are crucial.
If you live in any of these states and want to make sure a woman has the same opportunities to control her own body and life as a man does, call your state representative and let them know you support these bills. You’ll be standing up to Trump and working to expand reproductive freedom in the United States.
Even better, you can host an action party with your friends, family, and neighbors to talk about why organizing for reproductive freedom is one of the most powerful things you can do to resist the Trump administration.
