Attorney General James’ Statement on Supreme Court Decision Stripping Women of Their Right to Birth Control Coverage Under the ACA

New York Attorney General Letitia James today released the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Trump Administration’s rule allowing employers to deny their employees insurance coverage for contraception based on the employers’ religious or moral objections in Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania:

“Today’s Supreme Court decision is a loss to women across the nation, and allows President Trump to move forward with his efforts to control women’s reproductive freedoms. While employers should never have a role in making reproductive health care decisions for their employees, this decision puts bosses in charge of their workers’ bodies, their choices, and their freedoms. I wholeheartedly disagree with today’s decision and will continue to fight for women’s reproductive health care every day.”

The Supreme Court held that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) does not forbid the administration from creating an exemption to its contraceptive mandate. In April, Attorney General James and a coalition of attorneys general filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court supporting the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the state of New Jersey in their lawsuit defending the contraceptive coverage and counseling requirement mandated as part of the ACA.