Biden administration scraps rules to expand birth control access

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Politico

12/23/2024 09:46 PM EST


The Biden administration is withdrawing a proposed set of regulations that aimed to improve access to contraception by narrowing the ability of employers to opt out of covering birth control for their employees. The Department of Health and Human Services said in a notice in the Federal Register Monday that it was rescinding the regulations, which would have prohibited employers from claiming an exemption based on “non-religious moral objections” to the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate.

HHS said the administration was taking the action to “focus their time and resources on matters other than finalizing these rules” in the waning days of the Biden administration. Conservative organizations celebrated the news. In a post on X, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represents an order of nuns that has repeatedly challenged the Affordable Care Act’s birth control mandate in court, wrote: “Christmas came a little early this year.”

The rules would have also created a workaround for employees of religious organizations that refuse to provide birth control coverage to still access it for free. It proposed that people who can’t access contraception through their employer could obtain it — at no charge — directly from a health care provider.

When it proposed the rule changes last year, the Biden administration estimated it would have helped about 130,000 more people become eligible for contraceptive coverage. “Now more than ever, access to and coverage of birth control is critical,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in January of 2023, adding that the rule “says to women across the country, we have your back.”

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/12/23/biden-admin-birth-control-rule-00195979

[Lonestarblue]

1. A disappointment for many women.

Is this also capitulation to Trump because they will undo everything Biden does?

[BumRushDaShow]

3. It would have most likely been challenged in court

and I expect they are trying to spend the remaining time finishing up the more solid Rules that would have a harder time being reversed or summarily tossed out in court.

[Igel]

9. Three steps.

1. Challenged in court.

2. Trump's DOJ begs off any serious defense, so the reg's more likely to be found un-Constitutional.

3. There'd then be at least one district court precedent to be taken in account for any future administration that promulgates the rule.

A lot of "friendly" cases from organizations and groups that are allies with whatever flavor of administration and federal officials either end with a settlement that overrides administration regs or basically creates law or that crashes some regulation or law and makes it harder to reinstate it. (Congress plays the same game sometimes with the Executive, working hand-in-glove to get information shaken loose that the DOJ or other agency couldn't get access to--but once in the Congressional testimony, it's public and can be used to strength a weak case or start another.)

[BumRushDaShow]

12. There is also the "Congressional Review Act"

https://www.gao.gov/legal/congressional-review-act/FAQs-on-the-Congressional-Review-Act

that allows Congress to pass a Resolution disapproving the Regulation but that inevitably goes to the President, who more often than not will veto it. However if enough members voted for the Resolution, they could override the veto (and that as well as a President actually agreeing to the issue, has happened a few times in the past).

[riversedge]

4. We can be sure that #Trump will UNDO anything they can with Biden's name attached to it!!

[pnwmom]

5. So? All the more reason to force Trump to sign his name onto an anti-birth control bill.

[BumRushDaShow]

13. DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) was an EO by former President Obama

that survived 45's reign of terror and most court challenges until a couple years ago when a court finally halted new sign-ups into the program (although I think current members can remain and be renewed).

https://www.obama.org/stories/daca-10-years/

Biden had tried to put some guard rails around it.

[RandiFan1290]

2. OMG!!! I'm completely and totally shocked!!!!11

Just kidding

[pnwmom]

6. I'm disappointed. This is capitulation in advance. nt

[mopinko]

7. this is triage.

it was gonna get trashed anyway.

[pnwmom]

16. You might think protecting access to birth control isn't urgently important.

Millions of women disagree.

[slightlv]

8. Even after lising our rights

And becoming 2nd class citizens, we STILL get back burnered as a lower priority. I'm sorry, but if this is the kind of thing we can expect over the next 4 years, democrats better have something huge and important in the bucket for us women. Don't expect our votes "just because" any longer. Access to birth control can mean the difference between life and death to many women... and behave Long memories.... just ask any husband!

[Hope22]

11. Losing the right to vote is where they will squash us out.

Four years is a long time for every man to be stepping on the heads of women. Oh I know it’s not every man but it is. Regular guys failing to voice outrage has led us here. They have killed the progress women have made, family planning, healthcare, abortion and more. Very sad that it was not a big enough issue to have all hands on deck in the Biden admin. It’s only dealing with more than 50% of the population and every d@mn family! Any other country and the people would have been in the streets!

[slightlv]

14. I am so right thete with you, Hope.

I fully expect them to strip us of all birth control, take away our right to vote, and destroy the financial rights we finally won back in the 70s and 80s.

Women can be our own worst enemy, not to mention men!

[Hope22]

15. Yes!

It is beyond frightening.

[GoreWon2000]

10. Not a good look for dems with women voters

having Biden do tRump's anti-women dirty work for him. It sure looks like women are now 2nd class citizens for the dems too. This will just add to the steady pile on that's been happening since 2000 of claimed support by dems for both women's rights and voting rights but when these important issues are actually on the line, the dems cave faster than the time it takes to fold a piece of paper. No wonder so many dems stayed home in November.. I'm not surprised.