Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief (PDF) challenging the first Trump Administration’s 2017 and 2018 regulations undermining the Affordable Care Act’s guarantee of no-cost contraception coverage by employer healthcare plans. The regulations expand religious and moral exemptions to allow employers to strip workers of guaranteed, no-cost coverage for birth control and other contraceptive care and services.

In their brief, Attorney General Nessel and the coalition urge the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to affirm the District Court’s ruling that the regulations are unlawful. Attorney General Nessel joined a parallel challenge to the first Trump Administration’s rollback of the contraceptive mandate and that case remains pending before the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

“Birth control is a critical part of healthcare for women across the country,” said Attorney General Nessel. “Unlawful regulations that eliminate no-cost contraception coverage for thousands make it harder for women to protect their health and plan their futures while worsening healthcare deserts. I stand with my colleagues in defending the health and safety of women in our state.”

In the brief, Attorney General Nessel and the coalition argue that the regulations threaten contraceptive coverage for hundreds of thousands of women, putting at risk their health and the economic and public health of the states generally. Today, more than 80% of women ages 18 to 49 report having used some form of contraception in the past 12 months. With contraception costing an average of $584 per user per year, these unlawful regulations could shift an estimated $73.8 million in costs to individuals who rely on contraceptive care, creating significant barriers to accessing safe, effective healthcare. The coalition also argues that states will face significant financial strain if they are forced to expend millions of dollars for replacement contraceptive care and services through state-funded programs.

Access to birth control and contraceptive care has been substantially reduced in the years since these regulations were first implemented, and this harm will be exacerbated if the regulations remain in place because of changes in the landscape for reproductive healthcare. Many clinics that provide reproductive healthcare services – which would have helped fill the gap these regulations create – have since had their funding decimated by the Trump Administration. Moreover, a wave of cruel abortion restrictions following the overturning of Roe v. Wade has further constrained the options available to women experiencing unintended pregnancies.

The coalition argues that by limiting access to necessary contraceptive care, the unlawful regulations deepen already prevalent racial, gender, and income disparities. People of color and people with low incomes are disproportionately likely to live in “contraceptive deserts,” or areas that lack reasonable access to the full range of contraceptive care. An estimated 19 million American women live in these deserts and face additional challenges to accessing birth control. The regulations threaten to exacerbate these already significant health disparities and make accessing birth control even more challenging for marginalized communities.

Attorney General Nessel and the coalition urge the Court to affirm the District Court’s judgment striking down the Trump Administration’s regulations and protecting access to birth control and contraceptive care for hundreds of thousands of women across the country.

Joining Attorney General Nessel in filing this brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.