By: Leah Alsept
Email: Alseptl@findlay.edu
How will Trump’s new birth control policy affect Ohioans? NPR reported that the Trump Administration would be rolling back the Obama-era policy that all employers offer contraceptives to employees no matter the employers religious or moral values. The rollback has been blocked by 13 states; California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia by Federal Judge Hay Gilliam Jr two weeks ago also reported by NPR and USNews.
Ohio does not have the highest birth rate of the United States at only 62.1 births per 1,000 women in 2017. South Dakota leads the nation at 76.4 births per 1,000 women, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation reports.The US Department of Health and Human Services reported in 2017 “out of millions of employers in the U.S., these exemptions may impact only about 200 entities, the number that that filed lawsuits based on religious or moral objections.”
Dr. Robin Walters-Powell, assistant professor and chair of the Social Work Program at the University of Findlay, believes that employers who opt out of offering contraceptives will look at this as a cost-share.
“Anytime an employer can save money, whether it’s a religious or moral thing or not, they’ll look at it from a monetary standpoint,” said Walters-Powell.
The National Women’s Health Network reported in 2017 that implants like Nexplanon can cost more than $800 without insurance, and birth control pills could cost anywhere from $24 to $50 dollars per pack of pills, which on the highest end, costs $600 dollars per year. Planned Parenthood’s website offers ways that someone can get birth control even if they aren’t insured or simply don’t know where to start. More than3 million Ohioans are under Medicaid, reported in 2017 by both Policy Matter Ohio and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Medicare is provided to “low-income children, the elderly, working adults, and people with disabilities” according to Policy Matters Ohio.
New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the “Reproductive Health Act” recently which legalizes abortion until just before birth if “the woman’s health is endangered or if the fetus is not viable.”His decision has gotten much backlash from Catholic leaders who believe that aborting a baby that far into pregnancy is just wrong and needless, according to the Washington Post.
“Politics aside, keeping in mind what’s best for people take yourself out of being Democratic or Republican, what is the best thing we can do to serve other people and treat them fairly,” said Walters-Powell.