Press Releases
10/22/2019
ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG AND COALITION WIN APPEAL TO BLOCK TRUMP EFFORT TO STRIP ACCESS TO COST-FREE BIRTH CONTROL
Attorney General William Tong issued the following statement after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit sided with a coalition of states in State of California, et al. v. Alex Azar, II, et al., protecting an injunction currently in place. Connecticut is part of the multistate lawsuit seeking to block the Trump Administration's efforts to give employers the ability to deny women access to cost-free birth control guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act.
Since the ACA’s Women’s Health Amendment was put into place in 2012, 62 million women have benefitted from this provision. On October 6, 2017, the Trump Administration issued rules that allowed virtually any employer to deny women cost-free birth control guaranteed by the Affordable Care Act. A coalition of attorneys general led by California secured a nationwide injunction in December of 2017. Nearly a year later, the Trump Administration issued final rules that were nearly identical to the interim final rules. Connecticut then joined the California-led coalition in quickly challenging the rule and securing yet another injunction, protecting access to birth control for millions of women across the country. The Ninth Circuit ruled 2-1 today in favor of preserving that existing injunction.
"Today's ruling is a victory for tens of millions of women across America who can continue to receive cost-free birth control of their choice without interference from their employers. Your boss should have nothing to do with your birth control choices. The facts and the law are on our side, and we will continue to fight efforts to inject partisan politics into women's healthcare decisions," said Attorney General Tong.
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