The Biden administration on October 21 proposed making over-the-counter contraception free for everyone who has commercial health insurance.
According to an article in Roll Call, President Joe Biden stated, “Today, my Administration is taking a major step to expand contraception coverage under the Affordable Care Act. This new action would help ensure that millions of women with private health insurance can access the no-cost contraception they need.”
The article explains that the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor and Treasury jointly proposed the rule, which would “require insurance plans to cover OTC contraceptives at no cost and without a prescription for individuals with commercial insurance plans.”
The article continues, “Health plans would also be required to tell beneficiaries about the policy and would expand their required coverage of preventive services for prescribed contraceptives without cost sharing.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris stated that the proposal “includes coverage for no-cost over-the-counter contraception without a prescription for the first time in our nation’s history.”
According to news agency Sojourner, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) told the outlet that they were waiting for an official text to comment on the proposed rule, but that the Catholic Church’s position against contraception has not changed.
The proposed rule comes months after contraceptive pills became available over-the-counter for the first time. The FDA approved of Opill in July 2023, and it became available in March 2024.
Bishop Robert Barron, the chairman of the USCCB Committee for Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, condemned the FDA’s approval of the pill in a July 2023 statement on the USCCB’s website. He stated that the approval “flies in the face” of responsible healthcare as well as concern for women’s health.
“Claims that the benefits of this action outweigh the risks are unfounded, especially in light of strong evidence of the many harmful risks of hormonal contraception to women’s health,” the Bishop said.
Bishop Barron added, “Allowing this hormonal contraception to be dispensed ‘over the counter’ — without the supervision of a doctor and contrary to the mounting evidence of many harmful side effects — violates the Hippocratic Oath by putting the health of women at grave risk.”
LifeNews Note: Grace Porto writes for CatholicVote, where this column originally appeared.
