Obamacare Birth Control Mandate: Trump Administration To Weaken Provision

WASHINGTON, DC — The Trump administration issued new rules Friday to significantly weaken the birth control mandate that requires businesses to provide health insurance for its employees that offers coverage for contraception.

Under the new rules, any employer can opt out of the mandate for religious or moral reasons. Originally, when the Obama administration implemented the rule under the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), only religious institutions such as churches were exempt from the rule.

Watch: Trump rolls back Obama-era birth control mandate

But when Hobby Lobby brought a case against the government in opposition to the rule, the Supreme Court ruled that the administration had to provide exemptions for "closely held" corporations which have limited numbers of shareholders. The court said that the mandate would unduly impinge on the shareholder's rights to religious freedom as long as there the administration had other ways to provide coverage for birth control.(For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Trump's religious and moral exemption is expected to galvanize both his opponents and religious conservatives that back him, but it's likely to have a limited impact on America's largely secular workplaces. Most women no longer pay for birth control, and advocates immediately announced plans to try to block the new rule in court.

“This provides an exemption, a limited one, for those with religious or moral convictions implicated by the contraceptive mandate,” an HHS official told reporters, according to Vox.

Although tens of thousands of women could be affected by Trump's new policy, the vast majority of companies have no qualms about offering birth control benefits through their health plans. Human resource managers recognize that employers get an economic benefit from helping women space out their pregnancies, since female workers are central to most enterprises.

"By taking away women's access to no-cost birth control coverage, the rules give employers a license to discriminate against women," the National Women's Law Center said in a statement.

"The Trump administration's actions are an attack on women’s health," said Maura Healey, the Massachusetts Attorney General. "I am suing today to defend these critical protections."

According to the New York Times, the administration cites various possible risks tied to birth control, including "risky birth control."

"This is a landmarks day for religious liberty," said Speaker Paul Ryan in a statement. "The new conscience protections installed will ensure that people and organizations can freely live out their religious convictions and moral beliefs."

Reports emerged earlier this week that the president and his administration were planning to roll back the mandate.

Administration officials said the new policy defends religious freedom. Privately owned for-profit companies, as well as publicly-traded for-profit companies will be able to seek an exemption.

Officials also said the administration is tightening oversight of how plans sold under the health law cover abortion. With limited exceptions, abortions can only be paid for through a separate premium collected from enrollees. No public subsidies can be used, except in cases that involve rape, incest, or preserving the life of the mother.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images