Obama’s Decision to Rescind “Refusal Regulation” Will Protect A Woman’s Access to Birth Control and Right to Reproductive Choice
President Obama promotes reproductive health by rescinding Bush's "refusal regulation." For immediate release February 27, 2009 Contact: Andrea Miller
617-556-8800 x12 Obama’s Decision to Rescind “Refusal Regulation” Will Protect A Woman’s Access to Birth Control and Right to Reproductive Choice Statement of Andrea Miller, Executive Director Boston, MA – Today, the White House announced that the Obama Administration will rescind the Bush Administration’s last-ditch effort to jeopardize a woman’s access to birth control and undermine her right to choose. Leaving this regulation in place could have radically expanded the ability of health care providers, medical institutions, and insurance plans to refuse to provide women necessary and appropriate care. By taking steps to abolish the “Refusal Regulation,” the President has taken an admirable stand to protect a woman’s right to privacy and promote access to reproductive health care. These regulations were especially pernicious because they appeared calculated to eviscerate state laws – like those now in place in the Commonwealth – that protect women’s access to reproductive health services. This includes the requirement that all hospital emergency rooms make emergency contraception (EC) available to sexual assault survivors and that health plans cover birth control if they offer prescription coverage. In December, NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts released new research about access to EC in Massachusetts ERs, which proved that – even with strong laws on the books – some medical institutions may deny women who have been raped the compassionate care they need and deserve. In short, the “Refusal Regulation” is completely unnecessary. Federal law already allows health care institutions and medical personnel who receive federal funding to refuse to provide abortion or sterilization services. And any entity that receives federal health dollars – including state government – is prohibited from “discriminating” against health care facilities, medical personnel, or insurance plans for refusing to provide, cover, or refer for abortions (the penalties for doing so include loss of federal dollars, like Medicaid, which provide essential health care funding). We applaud President Obama for repealing this harmful regulation. We would also like to thank Governor Deval Patrick, Public Health Commissioner John Auerbach and the Attorney General who have publicly opposed these rules from the very beginning. This leads us one step closer to riddding ourselves of the anti-choice legacy -- which has been the focus of the last Administration over the past eight years. NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts is the state's leading advocate for privacy and a woman's right to choose.
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