Barriers to Reproductive Care

Women continue to face restrictions when they try to access the reproductive health care they need. We're working to defend access to reproductive care and to oppose challenges such as pharmacy refusals and religious restrictions by those imposing their beliefs on women.

Highlights

Fact Sheet | 2013 State Level Abortion Restrictions at Mid-Year: An Extreme Overreach into Women’s Reproductive Health Care

September 17, 2013

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court ruling that affirmed a woman’s right to a safe and legal abortion. Yet, anti-abortion state politicians continue to relentlessly attack this right, in the hopes of overturning Roe and preventing women from obtaining abortions. In the first 6 months of 2013, state lawmakers enacted 43 restrictions on abortion, including outright bans.   This is the second highest number of enacted restrictions at the mid-year mark, and equal to the total number of restrictions enacted in 2012.  These state restrictions are a dangerous overreach into women’s personal medical decisions.

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Fact Sheet | State Politicians Want Bosses to Make Women’s Health Care Decisions

June 14, 2013

State politicians are introducing bills that would allow a boss to trump women's health and women's access to the health care they need by refusing to comply with the birth control benefit of the health care law. These bill sare not about protecting religion. They are unconstitutional attempts to take away women's decision making, threatening women's health and equality.

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Fact Sheet | Requiring Crisis Pregnancy Centers to Disclose Limits on Care Is Part of a Long Tradition of Protecting Women’s Decision-making and Access to Reproductive Health Care

April 9, 2013

Women face many obstacles to receiving comprehensive, affordable, quality health care, including when individuals and institutions refuse to provide health care services.   Some even go so far as to refuse to inform women about their health care options or even to notify women that there are certain services or information that they will not provide.  This prevents women from participating fully in their own medical decision-making.  Not only are their rights compromised, their health may be harmed.

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Legal Briefs & Testimony | NWLC Amicus Briefs Supporting the Contraceptive Coverage Benefit

August 12, 2013

The Center is filing friend of the court briefs in lawsuits challenging the federal contraceptive coverage benefit, brought by employers who want to deny their employees this important benefit.  These cases involve suits brought under the First Amendment to the US Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  These cases will decide whether a boss’s religious beliefs trump women’s health and women’s access to the health care they need.

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More Resources

Fact Sheet | The Pence Amendment Jeopardizes Women’s Access to Basic Health Care

April 06, 2011

During debate on the Continuing Resolution for fiscal year 2011, the House adopted an amendment offered by Representative Mike Pence (R-IN) that would take all federal funds away from Planned Parenthood clinics. This targeted amendment puts the health of millions of low and middle-income women at risk by eliminating their primary source of preventive health care and family planning services. Not only would this amendment eliminate the provision of cancer screenings and other vital health services for women, but it represents a direct attack by Members of Congress on women’s ability to control their own reproductive health.

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Reports & Toolkits | Duty First: Towards Patient-Centered Care and Limitations on the Right to Refuse for Moral, Religious, or Ethical Reasons

March 31, 2011

This article provides an overview of the harm to patients caused by refusals to provide health care based individuals’ or institutions’ religious, moral or ethical beliefs.  The article argues that any law or policy allowing health care providers to refuse services to patients must emphasize providers’ duty to their patients.   The article examines existing refusal laws, and describes how they contravene medical ethics and undermine established principles of quality medical care.  The article concludes with recommendations for heightened patient protections which limit the burden of refusals currently imposed on patients.

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Legal Briefs & Testimony | Complaint filed with Arizona Attorney General’s Office in Hospital Merger Case

March 29, 2011

In April 2010, the Sierra Vista Regional Health Center in southern Arizona entered into an affiliation with a Catholic health system, and agreed to stop providing comprehensive reproductive health services.  The Center filed this complaint with Arizona Attorney General’s Office, alleging that the Board violated its duty to the community when it entered into a deal that limited access to health care.  We are pleased to report that while the complaint was pending, the Board of the Hospital decided to end the affiliation, restoring comprehensive health care access to this rural community.

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Fact Sheet | Supplemental Insurance Coverage of Abortion Only Further Encourages the End of All Private Insurance Coverage of Abortion

March 25, 2011

Attempts by states to ban insurance coverage of abortion are sweeping the nation. These bills either ban insurance coverage of abortion in every private insurance plan in the state or in plans that will be operating in state exchanges established pursuant to the new federal health care law.   These bans endanger women’s health and take away benefits that women currently have.

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Legal Briefs & Testimony | Testimony of Judy Waxman Before the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures of the House Ways and Means Committee Hearing on the Tax-Related Provisions of H.R. 3

March 16, 2011

Testimony of Judy Waxman on the Tax-Related Provisions of H.R. 3 as modified by the manager’s amendment offered in the House Judiciary Committee, which is a dangerous and misleading bill that imposes a devastating tax increase on millions of families and small businesses that want to keep their comprehensive insurance plans that include coverage of abortion.

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