WASHINGTON— U.S. Senators Christopher Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released a statement on Friday condemning the Trump administration for rolling back the federal requirement that health insurance plans cover birth control. The Trump administration announced overly broad exceptions for “religious beliefs or moral convictions” against contraception, eliminating the guarantee of no-copay contraception. Under the Affordable Care Act, employers were required to cover contraception as a free preventive health service for women. More than 62 million women, including over 756,000 women in Connecticut, now have access to fully-covered preventive care—including birth control, cancer screenings, and well-woman exams—without copays or other out-of-pocket expenses, saving billions. 

“I’m sick and tired of Republicans trying to take away women’s health care. It’s 2017—women should be able to get birth control if they want it, no matter where they work. President Trump just allowed employers to push their political agenda on their female employees,” said Murphy. “The Affordable Care Act was life-changing for so many women who can now actually afford birth control. This is just another attempt by President Trump to sabotage the Affordable Care Act. I’ll do everything I can to fight back.” 

Murphy has been vocal in his criticism of the Trump administration for systematically attempting to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, including defunding advertisements ahead of open enrollment and shutting down Healthcare.gov for periods of time during open enrollment. 

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