Schakowsky Reacts to Supreme Court Ruling That Limits Access to Birth Control

Statement

Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, a Senior Chief Deputy Whip and Chair of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus Providers and Clinics Task Force, issued this statement in response to the Supreme Court's ruling in Trump v. Pennsylvania, which says employers can deny birth control coverage to employees and upholds rules from President Trump and Vice President Pence:

"Contraception isn't a matter of ideology, but a matter of health. I am extremely disappointed that the Supreme Court has supported President Trump's shameful war on women and health care today.

"When we passed the Affordable Care Act, we affirmed the right of women to make their own health care decisions, offered nearly 61.4 million women birth control coverage with no out-of-pocket costs, and saved women over $1 billion in one year alone. The Court's decision is a gross misinterpretation of what we intended. Any employer or school will now be allowed to discriminate against employees or students, leaving them on their own to find and pay for contraception.

"We must protect low-wage workers, people of color, and LGBTQ people who already face barriers to care and will suffer the most from this decision. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass legislation to repeal the Trump Administration's discriminatory birth control rules."

In April, Schakowsky joined a bicameral group of Democratic Members of Congress to submit an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court in support of Pennsylvania's lawsuit challenging the Trump-Pence Administration rules.

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