Published: Friday, October 6th, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 6, 2017
Contact: Alexa Mauzy-Lewis, Camino PR
212.255.2575 / alexa@caminopr.com
WASHINGTON — Today, the Trump administration dealt a major blow to birth control coverage, rolling back an Affordable Care Act contraceptive mandate that provided guaranteed birth control coverage for 62 million women. The new rules clear the path for employers to stop offering free contraceptives through their health insurance plans, based on personal or religious beliefs. National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum Executive Director Sung Yeon Choimorrow issued the following statement in response:
“The Trump administration is continuing its slew of attacks against women. The elimination of the birth control mandate completely undermines our bodily autonomy and ability to make decisions about our own lives.
“Just a week after Republicans tried again to strip healthcare away from millions of people, and days after the House passed a 20-week abortion ban endorsed by Trump, the White House delivers another assault against reproductive freedom, advancing the administration’s anti-women agenda.
“Birth control coverage is crucial for low-income women and women of color. These attacks are of particular concern to the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, who already face disproportionate barriers to insurance access and have low rates of contraception use. Without this mandate, those with the greatest need will lose critical access to contraception and family planning rights. A plan that denies critical health services is not health care.
“We should not have to depend on employers to make a ‘moral’ judgment about our right to birth control access. The choice to use contraception is up to us, no one should be able to take that away.”
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The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) is the only multi-issue, progressive, community organizing and policy advocacy organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander women and girls in the U.S. NAPAWF’s mission is to build a movement to advance social justice and human rights for Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) women and girls.