Biden to sign executive order to expand birth control access
by Nathaniel Weixel - 06/23/23 5:00 AM ETPresident Biden will sign an executive order Friday aimed at increasing access to contraception and family planning.
The order is part of the administration’s efforts to promote reproductive health care and comes one day ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
It will also be the administration’s only policy response to mark the anniversary.
While the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization dealt with the constitutional right to an abortion, Justice Clarence Thomas in a concurring opinion said the high court should also reconsider whether there is a constitutional right to birth control.
“Access to contraception has become even more important in the wake of Dobbs and the ensuing crisis in women’s access to health care,” Jennifer Klein, director of the White House Gender Policy Council told reporters.
The order directs the secretaries of the Treasury and Labor Departments, as well as Health and Human Services (HHS), to consider new actions and guidance related to birth control, such as ensuring private health insurance covers all contraceptives either approved, cleared or granted by the Food and Drug Administration.
In all 50 states, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) guarantees coverage of women’s preventive services, including free birth control and contraceptive counseling. There are 18 contraceptive methods approved by the FDA, but the law only requires insurers to cover one product per category.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4063872-biden-to-sign-executive-order-to-expand-birth-control-access/
