Trump Officials Dispute the Benefits of Birth Control to Justify Rules
- New rule devotes several pages to disputing a 2011 HHS study
- Other data link contraceptives to fewer unplanned pregnancies
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When the Trump administration elected to stop requiring many employers to offer birth-control coverage in their health plans, it devoted nine of its new rule’s 163 pages to questioning the links between contraception and preventing unplanned pregnancies.
In the rule released Friday, officials attacked a 2011 report that recommended mandatory birth-control coverage to help women avoid unintended pregnancies. That report, requested by the Department of Health and Human Services, was done by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine -- then the Institute of Medicine -- an expert group that serves as the nation’s scientific adviser.