Judge freezes Trump administration contraception rule

Health Care

The new rules would let employers refuse to cover birth control by citing religious or moral objections.

A federal judge in California blocked a Trump administration rule that was set to go into effect Monday — one that would have allowed virtually any employer to refuse to cover workers’ birth control by citing religious or moral objections.

U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam ruled the policy would cause harm to the Democratic states suing over the rules, and he issued an order staying the rules from going into effect while the lawsuit proceeds. The temporary block is just for the states involved in the lawsuit.

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The new rules mark the administration’s second attempt to expand a workaround to a requirement stemming from Obamacare to provide FDA-approved contraception at no cost. The first attempt was halted in 2017 after courts found the administration tried to implement the change without giving the public the opportunity to weigh in. Houses of worship and closely-held private companies with religious objections are currently exempted from the requirement.

The decision on issuing an injunction hinged on whether the court believed people will suffer irreparable harm from President Donald Trump’s policy. HHS estimated that between 6,400 and 127,000 women will lose coverage of contraceptives under the rule, but reproductive rights advocates argued millions more could potentially be impacted.

The administration’s efforts reignited a fierce battle over one of the health care law’s most controversial provisions and quickly prompted legal challenges.

The states sought nationwide injunctions, arguing the administration again violated administrative procedure and that the rule would undercut the health care law and unconstitutionally discriminate against women.

In a similar case, Democratic attorneys general challenged the revised version of the rule on Thursday at the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. The court has not yet ruled on the request for an injunction but may do so by Monday.

Gilliam, the California judge, heard arguments Friday on the states’ request to block the rules. The states receiving an injunction Sunday evening include: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington state, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

“The law couldn’t be more clear — employers have no business interfering in women’s healthcare decisions,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement Sunday evening. “Today’s court ruling stops another attempt by the Trump Administration to trample on women’s access to basic reproductive care.”