Democratic lawmakers expressed outrage Friday after the Trump administration announced a rollback to Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate.
Democrats are calling the administration’s decision, which would restrict access to birth control, an attempt to sabotage the Affordable Care Act and an undermining of women’s health.
Frustration with Trump’s decision quickly trended the #handsoffmybc hashtag on Twitter.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was quick to criticize the decision, calling it “despicable” and “a sickening attack on women’s health.”
“This administration’s contempt for women reaches a new low with this appalling decision to enable employers and health plans to deny women basic coverage for contraception,” Pelosi said in a Friday news release.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized what he said was an “outrageous decision.”
“We have long turned the page on the days when a boss could stand in between a woman and her own healthcare decisions — this decision drags the country backwards,” he said in a statement. “This decision is just the latest in a series of moves the Trump Administration has made to undermine and sabotage our health care system.”
Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Massachusetts, said the move is “outrageous and wrong.”
But several Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, applauded Trump’s decision as protecting religious freedom.
“Under the Obama administration, this constitutional right was seriously eroded,” Ryan said in a statement, adding: ” The conscience protections installed will ensure that people and organizations can freely live out their religious convictions and moral beliefs.”
