Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey joins 18 other state prosecutors in opposing proposed contraceptive coverage rollback

Nov. 28--Referring to birth control as basic preventative medical care, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and 18 of her counterparts in other states on Tuesday hit President Donald Trump's efforts to stop requiring employers from including contraceptive coverage in health insurance plans.

Healey and the other attorneys general filed an amicus brief in federal court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, backing Pennsylvania's lawsuit against the federal government over new Trump administration rules that allow companies to claim an objection on religious or moral grounds.

Read the brief below.

The rules seek to roll back a mandate within the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare.

"A wealth of research demonstrates the critical importance of contraceptive coverage for the health of women and children as well as the economic security of women and their families," the brief from the attorneys general says.

"By creating broad new exemptions from the ACA's contraceptive mandate, the Rules leave the States to assume additional costs related to contraception and services associated with unintended pregnancies," the brief adds.

The brief also says the rules are unconstitutional, arguing that they allow religious beliefs to be elevated over a women's right to choose.

The other states on the amicus brief are California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington state.

Earlier this month, Healey joined Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker as he signed into law a bill requiring state insurers to cover birth control without a co-pay.

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