WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd June, 2023) US President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on Friday allowing broader access to affordable and high-quality contraception to mark one year since the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion, the White House said.
"Today, President Biden will issue an Executive Order on Strengthening Access to Affordable, High-Quality Contraception and Family Planning Services. This will be the third Executive Order on reproductive health care access that the President has signed since the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, and the first focused specifically on protecting and expanding access to contraception," the White House said in a statement.
In June 2022, the US Supreme Court overruled the precedent established by the Roe v. Wade and ruled that states may regulate the practice of abortion. The Roe v. Wade decision upheld pregnant women's right to seek an abortion without government restrictions.
Republican lawmakers in Congress have since pushed for Federal restrictions on the procedure, while Democrats have advocated for federal protections.
The Biden administration called contraception an essential component of reproductive health care, which has become more important after the Supreme Court's decision.
The new executive order will improve contraception access and affordability for women with private health insurance, according to the statement.
"The Executive Order directs the Secretaries of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (HHS) to consider new guidance to ensure that private health insurance under the Affordable Care Act covers all food and Drug Administration-approved, -granted, or -cleared contraceptives without cost sharing and to streamline the process for obtaining care women need and want," the statement said.
The order also directs the authorities to improve access to affordable over-the-counter contraception, including emergency contraception.
"These actions could include convening pharmacies, employers, and insurers to discuss opportunities to expand access to affordable over-the-counter-contraception; identifying promising practices regarding the coverage of over-the-counter contraception at no cost to patients; and providing guidance to support seamless coverage of over-the-counter contraception," the White House said.
The new initiative will also expand some services through the Medicaid and Medicare programs, and support access to contraception for military service members, veterans, and federal employees.
With the order, the Biden administration is also expanding access to contraception access to different groups of the population, including those using federally-supported healthcare programs and college students.
In his state of the union address, Biden promised to veto a national ban on abortion if Congress passes such legislation.
