Massachusetts Is First State To Protect Birth Control Access Under Trump
Source: Newsweek Magazine
MASSACHUSETTS IS FIRST STATE TO PROTECT BIRTH CONTROL ACCESS UNDER TRUMP
BY MARIE SOLIS ON 11/21/17 AT 10:10 AM
Massachusetts just became the first state to protect its residents' access to birth control, regardless of any actions taken by the administration of President Donald Trump.
Republican Governor Charlie Baker signed the bill into law on Monday after it passed with overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate. The law requires state insurers to cover birth control without copays, and it allows women to obtain up to a year's supply at once. That means they do not have to make monthly trips to the pharmacy, which can be difficult for women who work or who live in rural areas.
"This legislation will ensure no woman in Massachusetts, irrespective of what goes on in Washington, will worry about whether her health care services and rights will be affected here in the commonwealth," Baker said, according to MassLive.com.
The comment was a clear dig at Trump, whose administration in October rolled back the Affordable Care Act's birth control mandate, threatening the well being of the more than 55 million women who had access to copay-free birth control thanks to the provision. Also last month, a leaked memo showed the Trump administration's intentions to replace effective birth control methods with "fertility awareness," a family-planning technique that has been shown to fail 24 percent of the time.
Read more: http://www.newsweek.com/massachusetts-first-protect-access-free-birth-control-under-trump-718012
