U.S. high court grants exemptions to contraception coverage
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday handed a victory to religious conservatives in the fight over reproductive rights, allowing employers to opt out covering contraception.
In a 7-2 decision the Justices said President Donald Trump's administration had the legal authority to grant broad exemptions from a health care law requiring employers cover workers birth control.
The 2010 Affordable Care Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama, required employer-provided health insurance cover the cost of contraception without co-pays. Previously, many policies did not offer this coverage.
The court already crafted exemptions for family-owned firms such as Hobby Lobby, in 2014. In 2018, the Trump administration tried to further weaken the ACA requirement, saying it would allow any nonprofit or for-profit employer, including publicly traded companies, to seek an exemption on religious or moral grounds.
The states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania sued to block that change, arguing it would put hundreds of thousands of women's reproductive rights at risk.
Writing for the court, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas said the Trump administration "had the statutory authority to craft that exemption."
