Bill Summary
This bill, called the "Protect Access to Birth Control Act," aims to nullify two rules that were put in place by the Obama administration under the Affordable Care Act. The first rule is the "Religious Exemptions and Accommodations for Coverage of Certain Preventive Services," which allows certain religious employers to opt out of providing contraceptive coverage for their employees. The second rule is the "Moral Exemptions and Accommodations for Coverage of Certain Preventive Services," which expands the religious exemption to include employers who have moral objections to providing contraceptive coverage. This bill would prohibit the implementation and enforcement of these rules by the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor. Its purpose is to protect access to birth control for women who are employed by these organizations.
Possible Impacts
1. The legislation could restrict access to birth control for individuals who rely on it for medical reasons, such as managing hormonal imbalances or treating endometriosis.
2. Religious organizations may have to provide coverage for certain preventive services, such as birth control, that go against their beliefs.
3. The legislation could lead to legal challenges and debates over the separation of church and state, as well as the religious freedom of individuals and organizations.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7517 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7517
To provide that the rules entitled ``Religious Exemptions and
Accommodations for Coverage of Certain Preventive Services Under the
Affordable Care Act'' and ``Moral Exemptions and Accommodations for
Coverage of Certain Preventive Services Under the Affordable Care Act''
shall have no force or effect, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 9, 2020
Ms. DeGette (for herself, Ms. Judy Chu of California, Ms. Lee of
California, Ms. Frankel, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Brownley of California,
Ms. Speier, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Ms.
Jayapal, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Nadler, Mrs. Demings, Mr. Garcia of
Illinois, Mr. Foster, Mr. Welch, Mr. Takano, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Ms.
McCollum, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Shalala, Mr.
Casten of Illinois, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Engel, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Horsford,
Ms. Pressley, Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Mr. Bera, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Levin of
Michigan, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle
of Pennsylvania, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Mr. Ted Lieu of
California, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Deutch, Mrs.
Watson Coleman, Mr. Lujan, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Fudge, Mr. Loebsack, Mr.
Cooper, Ms. Pingree, Ms. Porter, Mrs. Lowey, Mr. David Scott of
Georgia, Mr. Thompson of California, Mr. Quigley, Ms. Moore, Mr.
Blumenauer, Mr. Huffman, Ms. Omar, Mr. Cisneros, Mrs. Carolyn B.
Maloney of New York, Mr. Payne, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Mr. Morelle, Mr.
Schneider, Mr. Kildee, Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire, Ms. Norton, Mr.
Larsen of Washington, Mr. Gomez, Ms. Meng, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Doggett,
Ms. Dean, Mr. Vela, Mr. Trone, Mr. Lowenthal, Ms. Wild, Mr. Clay, Ms.
Blunt Rochester, Mrs. Trahan, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Pappas, Ms. Kelly of
Illinois, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr.
Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Carbajal, Mrs. Fletcher, Mr. Lawson of Florida,
Mr. Michael F. Doyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Keating, Ms. Roybal-Allard,
Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Swalwell of California, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Khanna, Mr.
Meeks, Mr. Higgins of New York, Ms. Adams, Ms. Schrier, Mr. Carson of
Indiana, Mr. McNerney, Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Underwood, Mr. Gallego, Mr.
Sires, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Neguse, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Ms. Titus,
Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Escobar, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Green of Texas, Miss Rice
of New York, Ms. Craig, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Soto, Ms. Haaland, Ms.
Lofgren, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Crow, Mrs. Davis of California,
Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Kilmer, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Veasey, Mr. Levin
of California, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Heck, Mr. Cartwright, Mr. Sean
Patrick Maloney of New York, Mr. Cardenas, Mrs. Torres of California,
Ms. Bass, Mr. Beyer, and Mr. Himes) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in
addition to the Committees on Education and Labor, and Ways and Means,
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of
the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide that the rules entitled ``Religious Exemptions and
Accommodations for Coverage of Certain Preventive Services Under the
Affordable Care Act'' and ``Moral Exemptions and Accommodations for
Coverage of Certain Preventive Services Under the Affordable Care Act''
shall have no force or effect, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protect Access to Birth Control
Act''.
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN RULES RELATING TO RELIGIOUS AND MORAL
EXEMPTIONS AND ACCOMMODATIONS FOR COVERAGE OF CERTAIN
PREVENTIVE SERVICES.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of the
Treasury, and the Secretary of Labor may not take any action to
implement, enforce, or otherwise give effect to the rules entitled
``Religious Exemptions and Accommodations for Coverage of Certain
Preventive Services Under the Affordable Care Act'' (83 Fed. Reg. 57536
(November 15, 2018)) and ``Moral Exemptions and Accommodations for
Coverage of Certain Preventive Services Under the Affordable Care Act''
(83 Fed. Reg. 57592 (November 15, 2018)).
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