Linda Weber’s Statement on the Trump Administration’s Decision to Roll Back the ACA Contraception Coverage Requirement

The Trump administration’s decision to allow employers to deny women coverage of birth control reflects a consistent pattern of attacking the rights of women. Birth control is health care, and it is a medical necessity for many of the 99% of women who use it at some point in their lives. A woman’s health care decisions should always be in her own hands, with the assistance of her physician, not an employer.

This latest decision by the Trump administration is particularly appalling because it is also an attack on a specific policy that has an overwhelmingly positive impact on our nation. Unplanned and teenage pregnancies are at historic lows, and states have seen significant decreases in the use of public assistance. Moreover, access to no-cost contraception is proven to help lift low-income women out of poverty. This decision is a shameful assault on women’s rights, and it will also hurt our nation by undermining the progress that has been made.

Now is the time when we should be strengthening the Affordable Care Act and its highly effective contraception coverage requirements, not dismantling them. Rep. Leonard Lance’s dismal voting record on women’s issues is very harmful, as evidenced by his reprehensible 3% score from Planned Parenthood. I am calling on him to reverse course, and stand with women in New Jersey and against this assault on our rights.