With an ongoing border crisis, wars in the Middle East and Europe, a precarious economy, and only a little over two weeks until the 2024 presidential election, the Biden-Harris administration continues to prioritize efforts toward expanding free contraceptives.
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also referred to as Obamacare, birth control pills are already free for those with private health insurance and a prescription from their doctor. However, a new proposal by the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury that was announced by the White House on Monday would remove the need for a prescription. ABC News reported that “the new rule would expand that coverage, allowing millions of people on private health insurance to pick up free condoms, birth control pills, or ‘morning after’ pills from local storefronts without a prescription.”
Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su said of the announcement: “Today’s proposal to require plans and issuers to cover contraceptive services — without a prescription and at no cost to the individual — is a long overdue step in increasing access to basic, reproductive health care to millions of women.” Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Chiquita Brooks-LaSure referred to the proposal as a “historic action” that she considered to be “vital to ensuring people have control over personal decisions about their health, lives, and families.”
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In a statement, President Joe Biden claimed “contraception access is under attack,” noting that the proposal reflects his and Vice President Kamala Harris’s “commitment to expanding access to quality, affordable contraception.” He added, “We believe that women in every state must have the freedom to make deeply personal health care decisions, including the right to decide if and when to start or grow their family.”
If finalized, this rule would go into effect in 2025 and could impact up to 52 million American women with private health insurance. Notably, this proposal comes as abortion continues to be one of the most pressing issues for voters this election season. According to a Newsweek poll, the economy has been the most important issue on voters’ minds, with immigration and abortion duking it out for second place. However, the outlet found that in recent months, abortion has “risen most and … overtaken immigration.”
Harris, in particular, has made abortion a major part of her campaign and her time as vice president, from a nationwide abortion tour to free abortions and vasectomies at the Democratic National Convention to promising to impose abortion in all 50 states if elected as president. The recent proposal to amend the ACA is the latest in a stream of pro-abortion moves.
Mary Szoch, director of Family Research Council’s Center for Human Dignity, told The Washington Stand, “Our country is in crisis — crisis at the border, crisis of the economy, crisis of international wars — and the Biden-Harris administration is trying to make it look like the biggest problem in women’s lives is access to contraception. There is no threat to access to contraception.”
“There is a threat to a mother and father’s ability to protect and provide for their family,” Szoch concluded. “Harris should try doing something about that.”
LifeNews Note: Sarah Holliday is a reporter at The Washington Stand, where this originally appeared.
