Lawyers clash over impact of Trump’s rules on birth control
OAKLAND, Calif. — Lawyers for California and the U.S. Department of Justice clashed in court Tuesday over whether new rules from President Donald Trump’s administration would dramatically reduce women’s access to free birth control.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ethan Davis urged a federal judge not to grant the state’s request to block the policy change to President Barack Obama’s health care law, saying it was not clear any women would lose no-cost contraception coverage.
The law required most companies to cover birth control at no additional cost, though it included exemptions for religious organizations. The new policy allows more categories of employers, including publicly traded companies, to opt out of providing free contraception to women by claiming religious or moral objections.
Washington state, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania also have sued the Trump administration over the rules. The California attorney general’s office said U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam was the first judge to hold a hearing to determine whether to block the rules while California’s lawsuit moves through the courts.