2nd Judge Blocks Trump Rules for Birth Control Insurance Coverage

January 14, 2019 6:29 PM

VOA News

A second federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from letting businesses and others opt out of birth control coverage required by the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.

Judge Wendy Beetlestone handed down her ruling Monday in Philadelphia, blocking the Trump rules nationwide - a day after a federal judge in California issued an injunction affecting 13 states and Washington, D.C.

Both judges ruled that allowing employers to opt out of birth control coverage would force women to turn to the states for help, leading to such consequences as unwanted pregnancies.

There has been no reaction from the White House or Justice Department.

The Trump administration rules were to have taken effect this week. They would have let businesses and nonprofit groups opt out of the birth control requirement on moral grounds or if it violated religious beliefs.

Lawyers for those suing to block the rules argued that they violate women's economic and reproductive rights.

VOA News