Following the Loss of the House, President Trump Moves to Push Abortion and Birth Control Further Out of Reach

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
November 9, 2018
Contact: Stephanie Reichin | E: [email protected] | M: 617.549.3745

Statement from the National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH) President Andrea Miller

New York – Following the loss of the Republican majority in the House, the Trump-Pence administration doubled down their efforts to restrict access to reproductive health care, proposing a new rule that would deny private insurance coverage for abortions through the Affordable Care Act’s insurance Marketplaces, which would potentially deny coverage for more than one million women. The proposed rule would place onerous regulations on insurers, dissuading them from offering abortion coverage at all, and is designed to cause confusion among consumers, which could delay or prevent women from accessing the care they need. The administration also issued two final rules on birth control, which will allow employers, universities, and any entity that provides health insurance coverage to deny birth control coverage on moral or religious grounds.

The following is a statement from NIRH President Andrea Miller:

“Hours after midterm election victories for champions of reproductive freedom, President Trump is back to playing politics with health care, issuing extreme new rules designed to prevent women from accessing the health care they need.  Pushing abortion care out of reach for millions, and placing cruel, unnecessary burdens on those seeking abortion, in unconscionable. Gambling with access to no-pay birth control coverage, which scores of women depend on for their health and economic stability, is shameful. These outrageous rules place a serious financial burden on women who need and deserve reproductive health care, and will disproportionately affect low-income families and women of color.

“Earlier this week, voters in states across the country – red, purple, and blue – sharply rebuked the Trump-Pence administration’s assaults on reproductive rights by electing candidates who support increased access to abortion. States like New York, New Mexico, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Delaware, to name a few, are now poised to make progressive strides in expanding and preserving reproductive freedom, which reflects the views of the vast majority of voters. The National Institute for Reproductive Health remains committed to fighting with our state and local partners to guarantee every person has the right and ability to access health care, including abortion.”

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The National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH) builds power at the state and local levels to change public policy, galvanize public support, and normalize women’s decisions about abortion and contraception.