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 | 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

April 30, 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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Fact Sheet | If Opponents of Birth Control Have Their Way, Millions of Women Would Lose Access to Birth Control

September 14, 2012

Opponents of birth control in Congress are working night and day to enact new laws and policies that would deny millions of women access to birth control -- including access already guaranteed to women by law. Thankfully, so far, supporters of birth control have stopped the worst of these Congressional attacks.  Although the anti-birth control efforts have taken several forms, they all would have the same effect: taking birth control coverage away from women nationwide. A comparison of opponents’ and supporters’ legislative priorities makes the difference clear: while opponents of contraception would take it away from women, supporters work to ensure that women have access to affordable birth control.

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Fact Sheet | Accessing Non-Prescription Emergency Contraception: The Basics

April 22, 2012

This factsheet provides basic information on types of emergency contraception and answers frequently asked questions regarding obtaining and using EC. 

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More Resources

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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Fact Sheet | Oppose the Pence Amendment that Will Jeopardize Women's Access to Basic Health Care

February 23, 2011

Representative Mike Pence (R-IN) has filed an amendment to H.R. 1 which would take all federal funds away from Planned Parenthood health centers and would have a devastating effect on women’s access to health care across the country.  This targeted amendment would put 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.

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Fact Sheet | HHS Rescinds Portions of Health Care Refusal Rule that Threatened Women’s Health

February 18, 2011

The Department of Health and Human Services partially rescinded a regulation entitled, “Ensuring That Department of Health and Human Services Funds Do Not Support Coercive or Discriminatory Policies or Practices in Violation of Federal Law,” which went into effect under the Bush Administration.  These changes restore critically important protections for patients.

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