Tag Archives: Women's Reproductive Freedom

Anti-Trump Activism, News & Photo Features

New York Takes to Streets to Protest Trump & Project 2025 Agenda

January 18, 2025 krubin

*People’s March, New York City, January 18, 2025 protesting against Trump and his Project 2025 agenda © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com*

By Karen Rubin, News-Photos-Features.com, [email protected]

The pink pussy hats are back, though not nearly the sea of pink of the 2017 Women’s March, the largest mass protest in history. This time, the hats and the signs demanding reproductive freedom and women’s rights were mixed in with the litany of protests that marked Trump’s first term.

Hundreds turned out for the Peoples’ protest at Foley Square in front of the U.S. Courthouse to hear demands for women’s rights, protection against mass deportation of immigrants, workers’ rights, climate action, gun violence prevention, universal health care. They railed against the rising oligarchy – capitalism run amok – fascism and White Christian Nationalism, spiced with a return to imperialism and colonialism and the deadening of democracy – in essence, they were protesting the entire Trump Project 2025 Agenda and his handpicked sychophants and henchmen. A cornucopia of the greatest hits of the 2017-2021 term, with anticipation, recognition and outright fear that Trump 2.0 is far worse, more unhinged and more dangerous.

“We march for many reasons but all for the same cause: defending our rights, our freedom and our future,” the organizers declared. “We are not going backwards.”

“If you believe that decisions about your body should remain yours, that clean air and water are rights andnot privileges, that libraries should hold knowledge and not censorship, that gun violence must end, that healthcare and economic dignity are fundamental human rights—then this march is for you.

“This is about our collective power and centering the communities that have always been at the frontlines of change: Black and Brown voices, Women, Trans & Queer youth, immigrants and working-class people have always been the backbone of resistance. Today, we rise together to demand a future where everyone is free to exist & thrive.”

They marched

• To demand racial justice and honor the leadership of frontline Black and Brown communities.

• To defend women’s rights and reproductive freedom – the right to decide if and when to have children.

• To fight for economic justice, fair wages and the right to retire in dignity.

• To demand action on climate justice and ensure future generations have clean air and water.

• To uphold the freedom to live without fear of gun violence or police brutality.

• To protect our democracy and ensure every vote counts.

• To stand in solidarity with trans and queer youth and defend their freedom to live their true selves without fear.

• To guarantee healthcare & education are rights for all.

• To recognize that people with disabilities face discrimination, lack of access and exclusion.

“This march is a bold demonstration of resilience and resistance, to unite the people who’ve been the backbone of justice for generations, and to welcome even more voices into the movement. We march to demand accountability from civil servants and remind them they answer to us. We march to inspire, energize, and drive change..This is our moment to remind Washington elites—and every American—where the power truly lives: with the people.”

The timing was significant – Saturday, January 18, before Trump is inaugurated (installed) by his facilitator, Chief Justice John Roberts, despite being an insurrectionist ineligible to hold federal office, instead of January 21, the day after as in 2017. Could it be because Trump has indicated he would order protesters shot, as he wanted to do to the Seattle protesters demanding justice for George Floyd, but was told then by one of his “guardrails” that it would be illegal. Trump 2.0 no longer has “guardrails” or even restraints – his pick to run the Defense Department, sex abuser Pete Hegseth, would not say he would refuse an order to shoot protesters, while Justice Roberts and his Imperial Supremes have granted Trump virtual immunity from criminal activity as long as Trump, even retroactively, labels it an “official act.” “Could he assassinate a political rival?” his attorney was asked? “Well, why yes,” was the reply.

Trump will use any sort of protest to call out the National Guard with instructions to shoot, beat up, arrest, prosecute, imprison – or worse, seize powers under the Insurrection Act and declare martial law, which would give him further excuse to clamp down on the press along with protest, dissent of any kind. Because that is who he is and who is backing him – the Heritage Foundation and WhiteChristoFascist authors of Project 2025.

So it is likely that future protests will have to undergo a “benefit versus risk-reward” analysis, especially when people are right to be skeptical about what such protests even accomplish. After all, millions turned out in 2017 and over and over again during the course of his four years, protesting his family separation policy, his refusal to address climate change and his disdain for science, the explosion in gun violence literally promoted by his hate speech and call to violence and his nod to neoNazi extremists (he calls them “evangelists”) and for his impeachment, while politicians have proved they cannot be shamed and no longer even care what constituents want or need, only that the oligarchs continue to back them.

Nonetheless, there is still an important reason to show up: it is to build community, to know you are not crazy for feeling your head will explode and the earth has tilted off its axis, to form new coalitions, and yes, to find new, better, more effective ways to resist and ultimately take back power.

The strategy now seems to be for all the movements – women’s rights, gender and trans rights, workers rights, climate and environmental justice activists, gun control activists, criminal justice and immigration reform activists, and those who oppose autocracy, oligarchy, fascism and White Christian Nationalism – to unify.

My question is: where were they BEFORE the election?

What will happen when – as Trump promises as soon as the day after inauguration – he unleashes “the biggest mass deportation in history,” uprooting parents and siblings from the 4.4 million U.S. citizen children who live with undocumented family? What will happen when raids are unleashed in workplaces, factories, hospitals, churches, courthouses, funerals, schools?

At the protest, there was a call to stand up, stand together “with our siblings” but how, exactly?

At the rally in Washington Square Park, NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams pointed out that Hitler, who was democratically elected Chancellor and within 53 days had turned Germany into a fascist dictatorship, started with mass-deportation of Jews. Jews had lived in Germany for 1000 years, but it took just 10 years for Hitler to go from election to his Final Solution, the extermination of 6 million Jews. The Germans did nothing as Jews were forced from their homes into the streets where they were beaten and loaded onto cattle cars to concentration camps.

What will people do when they see their neighbors being hauled out of their homes, from their workplaces, from church into “deportation” camps?

With an executive order, Trump can (and will) impose the Comstock Act and cut off access to abortion medication – the lifeline to pregnant women in the two dozen states that now ban abortion, while his hand-picked Texas judge has restarted a case, brought by three other states, to ban mifepresone and the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued a New York doctor for sending the abortion medication to a 20-year old Texas woman, even as the rate of maternal mortality spikes in Texas, pregnant women are dying for lack of access to emergency care, and 26,000 women have had to birth their rapist’s child.

But apparently, too few women have suffered or died for women (or the men who love them) to vote for Kamala Harris.

Throughout the rally, there were calls for workers to defeat the capitalist oppressors, and to recognize that women’s reproductive rights are also workers’ rights, a matter of economic as well as social justice. Yet the meme is that Trump had great appeal to working class because of the cost of a dozen eggs and a gallon of gas. But how does Arnold Palmer’s cock, sharks, windmills have anything to do with the cost of eggs or gas, except that he also calls climate change (and disasters, including California’s wildfires) a “sham” and his answer to grocery and gas prices is to “drill, drill, drill” (at the same time, pay back Big Oil for the $1 billion paid into his election).

Universal health care? The closest thing to that in history was President Biden’s campaign to end the COVID pandemic. Trump is intent on obliterating any notion of public health; he has threatened to withhold federal aid to schools that mandate children be vaccinated. One million people died from COVID-19, hundreds of thousands of whom could have been saved except for Trump’s mishandling and then the MAGA crusade against masks and vaccinations. What will happen when the next deadly pandemic hits especially with Trump naming RFK Jr as Health and Human Services Secretary and his interest in decimating the CDC?

New York’s People’s March (peoplesmarch.com) was only one of some 300 held around the country, including Washington DC where thousands turned out, Los Angeles, San Diego, Detroit, Chicago, Austin, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Boise, Spokane, Columbus and Raleigh.

Here are highlights of New York’s People’s March.

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© 2025 News & Photo Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. For editorial feature and photo information, go to www.news-photos-features.com, email [email protected]. Blogging at www.dailykos.com/blogs/NewsPhotosFeatures. ‘Like’ us at facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures, Tweet @KarenBRubin Threads: @news_and_photo_features

Biden Administration, Health Care, News & Photo Features, Obamacare

Biden-Harris Administration Proposes Rule to Expand Coverage of Affordable Contraception Under the Affordable Care Act

October 21, 2024 krubin

*Women’s March outside Trump International, NYC, 2019.* Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership, the Administration is taking bold action to expand coverage of contraception for the 52 million women of reproductive age with private health insurance, marking the most significant expansion of contraception benefits under the Affordable Care Act in more than a decade. This action builds on the Biden-Harris Administration’s strong record of defending access to reproductive health care and commitment to ensuring that women have the freedom to make deeply personal health care decisions, including if and when to start or grow their family. In contrast, Trump and Republican elected officials continue to threaten women’s health, lives, and freedom through extreme abortion bans, some with no exceptions for rape or incest, are moving to ban contraception and Morning After medication. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Today, October 21, 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration proposed a rule to expand coverage of affordable contraception under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Here is a memo from Jennifer Klein, Director of the White House Gender Policy Council which Biden established, and a fact sheet from the White House on the proposal:

Interested Parties Memo: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Expands Coverage of Contraception Under the Affordable Care Act as Republican Elected Officials Continue Attacks on Reproductive Freedom
From: Jennifer Klein, Director, White House Gender Policy Council

Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership, the Administration is taking bold action to expand coverage of contraception for the 52 million women of reproductive age with private health insurance, marking the most significant expansion of contraception benefits under the Affordable Care Act in more than a decade.

Today’s announcement builds on the Biden-Harris Administration’s strong record of defending access to reproductive health care and commitment to ensuring that women have the freedom to make deeply personal health care decisions, including if and when to start or grow their family.

Meanwhile, Republican elected officials continue to threaten women’s health, lives, and freedom through extreme abortion bans, some with no exceptions for rape or incest. Women are being denied essential medical care while doctors and nurses are threatened with jail time. Abortion, contraception, and IVF are under attack, while Republicans in Congress refuse to protect nationwide access to this vital reproductive health care. This extreme agenda is out-of-touch with the American people—which is why voters have overwhelmingly chosen to protect reproductive freedom in every state where abortion has been on the ballot.

President Biden and Vice President Harris stand with the vast majority of Americans in supporting a woman’s right to choose, and they will continue the fight against a national abortion ban and call on Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law once and for all.

Read the Rest of the Interested Parties Memo Here
Read President Biden’s Statement Here
Read Vice President Harris’ Statement Here
Read the Fact Sheet Here (and below)

FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Proposes Rule to Expand Coverage of Affordable Contraception Under the Affordable Care Act

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Proposal for Most Significant Expansion of Contraception Coverage Under the Affordable Care Act in More Than a Decade

President Biden and Vice President Harris have protected and built on the Affordable Care Act. Nearly 50 million people over the past decade have had coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplaces, and the law has protected more than 100 million people with preexisting medical conditions. Thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration, Affordable Care Act coverage is more affordable than ever with millions of families saving an average of $800 per year on Marketplace coverage.

The Affordable Care Act has also helped millions of women save billions of dollars on contraception—an essential component of reproductive health care that has only become more important since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. As part of President Biden and Vice President Harris’ steadfast commitment to reproductive rights, the Biden-Harris Administration has further strengthened contraception access and affordability under the Affordable Care Act, through Medicare and Medicaid, through the Title X Family Planning Program, through federally qualified health centers, and for federal employees, Service members, veterans, and college students.

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is proposing a rule that would significantly increase coverage of contraception without cost sharing for 52 million women of reproductive age with private health insurance. Building on the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that most private health plans must cover contraception without cost sharing, today’s proposed rule from the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury would:

Expand coverage of over-the-counter contraception without cost sharing. Under the proposed rule, for the first time, women would be able to obtain over-the-counter (OTC) contraception without a prescription at no additional cost. As a result, more women would be able to access and afford critical OTC medications such as emergency contraception and the first-ever daily oral contraceptive approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use without a prescription that is now widely available across the country.
Make it easier to learn about coverage for OTC contraception. To help ensure that women understand this new benefit, most private health plans would be required to disclose that OTC contraception is covered without cost sharing and without a prescription—and take steps to help women learn more about their contraception coverage.
Strengthen coverage of prescribed contraception without cost sharing. The proposed rule would make it easier for most women with private health insurance to obtain contraception without cost sharing that is prescribed by their health care provider. Health plans would be required to cover every FDA-approved contraceptive drug or drug-led combination product without cost sharing unless the plan also covers a therapeutic equivalent without cost sharing, eliminating barriers that some women continue to face in accessing contraception prescribed by their provider.

This proposed rule, if finalized, would be the most significant expansion of contraception coverage under the Affordable Care Act since 2012, when contraception was first required to be covered. Also today, the Biden-Harris Administration is issuing new guidance to help ensure that patients can access other preventive services, such as cancer screenings, that must be covered without cost sharing under the Affordable Care Act.

The Biden-Harris Administration is issuing this proposed rule at a time when reproductive rights are under attack, and Republican elected officials remain committed to repealing the Affordable Care Act. Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, dangerous and extreme abortion bans are putting women’s health and lives at risk and disrupting access to critical health care services, including contraception, as health care providers are forced to close in states across the country. At the same time, Republican elected officials in some states have made clear they want to ban or restrict birth control in addition to abortion, and Republicans in Congress have attacked contraception access nationwide by proposing to defund the Title X Family Planning Program. In contrast, President Biden and Vice President Harris believe that women in every state must have the freedom to make deeply personal health care decisions, including the right to decide if and when to start or grow their family.

Today’s announcements build on actions that the Biden-Harris Administration has already taken to expand access to affordable contraception, including to implement the President’s Executive Order on Strengthening Access to Affordable, High-Quality Contraception and Family Planning Services from June 2023. The Administration has taken action to:

Expand contraception coverage and affordability under the Affordable Care Act. The Departments of HHS, Labor, and the Treasury proposed a rule to provide a new pathway under the Affordable Care Act for women to access coverage of contraceptives when their private health coverage is exempt from covering this benefit due to a religious objection. These agencies also issued new guidance to support expanded coverage of a broader range of FDA-approved, cleared, or granted contraceptives at no additional cost under the Affordable Care Act, building on guidance issued after Roe v. Wade was overturned to clarify protections for contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Further, HHS strengthened the standard for inclusion of family planning providers in Marketplace plan provider networks and provided nearly $9 million in grant funding to support state efforts to enhance and expand coverage of, and access to, reproductive and maternal health services, including contraception. And the Internal Revenue Service issued new guidance affirming that high-deductible health plans can cover OTC contraception as preventive care.
Bolster family planning services through Title X clinics. HHS continues to rebuild and grow the Title X Family Planning Program, which has played a critical role in ensuring access to a broad range of high-quality family planning and preventive health services for more than 50 years. During the prior administration, more than 1,000 service sites left the Title X Family Planning Program, leading to a significant decline in people served. The Biden-Harris Administration reversed the policy changes that led to those departures, strengthening the Title X Family Planning Program and helping ensure that the Program remains a critical part of the nation’s health safety net. In 2023, HHS provided about $287 million to nearly 4,000 Title X clinics across the country to provide free or low-cost voluntary, client-centered family planning and related preventive services for 2.8 million women and families—an 80 percent increase since 2020.
Support family planning coverage through the Medicaid and Medicare programs. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued new guidance to state Medicaid programs and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) to help ensure that enrollees can access family planning services. The new guidance outlined existing state obligations under federal law, highlighted strategies to enhance access to contraception, affirmed confidentiality requirements for those seeking family planning services, and shared recommendations on ways to measure quality in delivering family planning services. To help ensure that women with Medicare coverage have access to more covered types of contraception without unnecessary barriers, CMS updated its Medicare Part D formulary clinical review process for plan year 2024 and 2025 to include additional contraceptive types, such as long-acting contraceptives, and is increasing public awareness of contraceptive coverage options under Medicare Part B. The Secretary of HHS also issued a letter to state Medicaid and CHIP programs as well as private health insurers and Medicare plans about their existing obligations to cover contraception for those they serve.
Increase contraception access through federal health centers. Federal health centers continue to be an important source of family planning services: in 2023, health centers provided nearly 3 million contraceptive services visits to patients, a 14 percent increase since 2020. To support health centers in providing high-quality family planning services, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) provided updated guidance on existing federal requirements for family planning and related services, which is a required primary health care service under federal law, as well as evidence-based recommendations and resources. HRSA also adopted new data measures for health centers that will help assess whether patients have been screened for contraception needs. Screening and data measures will help enhance the overall delivery of voluntary family planning and related services.
Support contraception access for federal employees and their families. The Office of Personnel Management strengthened access to contraception for federal workers, retirees, and family members by issuing guidance to insurers participating in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program to clarify standards and support expanded coverage of a broader range of FDA-approved, cleared, or granted contraceptives at no additional cost. The Office of Personnel Management also required insurers that participate in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program to take additional steps to educate enrollees about their contraception benefits and launched a public education campaign to highlight contraception benefits available to federal employees and their families.
Promote contraception access and affordability for Service members and their families and certain dependents of veterans. To improve access to contraception at military hospitals and clinics, the Department of Defense expanded walk-in contraceptive care services for active-duty Service members and other Military Health System beneficiaries and eliminated TRICARE copays for certain contraceptive services. And the Department of Veterans Affairs eliminated out-of-pocket costs for certain types of contraception through the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Support access to affordable contraception for college students. To help increase access to contraception for college students, President Biden directed the Secretary of Education to convene institutions of higher education to share best practices and ways to help students understand their options for accessing contraception. In 2023, Vice President Harris joined a Department of Education convening of representatives from 68 colleges and universities across 32 states to discuss promising strategies for protecting and expanding access to contraception for their students. This convening followed Vice President Harris’s multiple conversations about reproductive health access with students on college campuses across the country.
Enhance contraception access through technical assistance and public-private partnership. In June 2023, HHS announced a new five-year public-private partnership to expand access to contraception with Upstream, a national nonprofit organization that provides health centers with free patient-centered, evidence-based training and technical assistance to eliminate provider-level barriers to offering the full range of contraceptive options. To date, HHS has connected Upstream to more than 130 health care clinics, resulting in partnerships that will help Upstream accelerate their national expansion to reach 5 million women of reproductive age every year.
Promote research and data analysis on contraception access. To document the gaps and disparities in contraception access as well as the benefits of comprehensive coverage, HHS convened leading experts to discuss the state of research, data collection, and data analysis on contraception access and family planning services. These convenings helped identify research gaps, opportunities for collaboration, and ways to bolster research efforts for both Federal agencies and external partners.

In addition to strengthening access to affordable contraception, the Biden-Harris Administration continues to implement President Biden’s three Executive Orders and a Presidential Memorandum directing federal agencies to protect access to reproductive health care issued since the Court overturned Roe v. Wade. To date, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken action to protect access to abortion, including FDA-approved medication abortion; defend access to emergency medical care; support the ability to travel for reproductive health care; safeguard the privacy of patients and health care providers; and ensure access to accurate information and legal resources.

The Vice President has led the White House’s efforts to partner with leaders on the frontlines of protecting access to abortion, highlighting the harm of abortion bans to women’s health at more than 100 events in more than 20 states since Roe v. Wade was overturned, and meeting with hundreds of state legislators, health care providers, and advocates. On what would have been the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Vice President launched a nationwide Fight for Reproductive Freedoms tour to continue fighting back against extreme attacks throughout America.

President Biden and Vice President Harris will continue to call on Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law to ensure that women in every state are able to make their own decisions about reproductive health care.

Biden Administration, Health Care, Women's Rights

On 49th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Biden-Harris Commit to Protecting Women’s Reproductive Rights; HHS Acts

January 22, 2022 krubin

*New York City Women’s Rally to protect Roe v. Wade © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com*

On the 49^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris issued a statement asserting their commitment to protecting women’s reproductive freedom:

The constitutional right established in Roe v. Wade nearly 50 years ago today is under assault as never before. It is a right we believe should be codified into law, and we pledge to defend it with every tool we possess. We are deeply committed to protecting access to health care, including reproductive health care—and to ensuring that this country is not pushed backwards on women’s equality.

In recent years, we have seen efforts to restrict access to reproductive health care increase at an alarming rate. In Texas, Mississippi, and many other states around the country, access to reproductive health care is under attack. These state restrictions constrain the freedom of all women. And they are particularly devastating for those who have fewer options and fewer resources, such as those in underserved communities, including communities of color and many in rural areas.

The Biden-Harris Administration strongly supports efforts to codify Roe, and we will continue to work with Congress on the Women’s Health Protection Act. All people deserve access to reproductive health care regardless of their gender, income, race, zip code, health insurance status, immigration status, disability, or sexual orientation. And the continued defense of this constitutional right is essential to our health, safety, and progress as a nation.

We must ensure that our daughters and granddaughters have the same fundamental rights that their mothers and grandmothers fought for and won on this day, 49 years ago—including leaders like the late Sarah Weddington, whose successful arguments before the Supreme Court led to the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.

At this pivotal moment, we recommit to strengthening access to critical reproductive health care, defending the constitutional right established by Roe, and protecting the freedom of all people to build their own future.

Watch the Vice President’s Exclusive with Elle Magazine Marking the 49th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

The Vice President recorded a video message reiterating our administration’s commitment to protecting constitutional rights. “Roe v. Wade advanced women’s equality and that case saved women’s lives,” Harris says in the video. Read the Full Exclusive Here

HHS Secretary Becerra Takes Action to Protect Reproductive Health Care

New Task Force Launched on Eve of Roe v. Wade Anniversary

Today, on the eve of the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced the first-ever HHS Intra-agency Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access.

The task force includes subject matter experts from across the department. The HHS Assistant Secretary for Health and the HHS Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs will serve as the co-chairs of this coordinating body. The task force’s primary goal is to facilitate collaborative, innovative, transparent, equitable, and action-oriented approaches to protect and bolster sexual and reproductive health.

“As we commemorate the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we recommit to protecting and strengthening access to reproductive health care, including the right to safe and legal abortion care that the Supreme Court has recognized for decades,” said Secretary Becerra. “Patients have the right to make decisions about their own bodies. In light of restrictive laws across the nation, HHS will evaluate the impact on patients and our communities. That’s why today, I have launched the first Intra-agency Task Force on Reproductive Healthcare Access. Once again, we are telling health care providers and patients, we have your back.”

“Across America, we must protect access to sexual and reproductive health,” said HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Rachel Levine, MD. “Establishing a new task force dedicated to this critical public health topic will advance policies that improve reproductive health care access within Federal programs and services, eliminate health disparities, and expand access to culturally competent health care services for underserved communities, including people of color, people with disabilities, young people, LGBTQI+ people, and others.”

“Advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights is central to our core global health goals, including our focus on addressing health inequities and expanding access to universal health coverage,” said HHS Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs Loyce Pace. “In order to build back better in the U.S. and around the world, we must ensure that all people can access high quality health care, including sexual and reproductive health care services.”

HHS has taken several meaningful actions under the Biden-Harris Administration to protect and bolster reproductive health, rights, and justice, including:

The Department issued a new final rule for Title X, the nation’s family planning program, to ensure access to equitable, affordable, client-centered, quality family planning services.
The Department announced $6.6 million through the Title X family planning program to address the demand for family planning services where restrictive laws and policies have impacted reproductive health access, or in states where there is a lack of or limited Title X access.
The Department has advanced maternal health priorities, including expanding access to postpartum Medicaid coverage, rural health care services, and implicit bias training.
The Department has issued guidance on both nondiscrimination requirements of the Church Amendments protecting health care providers through its Office for Civil Rights and providers’ legal obligations and protections under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to provide medical treatment to a pregnant patient who presents to the emergency department regardless of conflicting state laws or mandates that might seek to prevent such treatment.