New Maryland Law Grants Women Easiest Access To Birth Control In Nation

Maryland’s contraceptive insurance coverage will soon be the most comprehensive in the nation, following a new law which the state’s Republican Gov. Larry Hogan signed into law on May 10.

The bill, known as the “Contraceptive Equality Act,” will eliminate most co-pays and prescription requirements for birth control, allow women to purchase six months’ worth of birth control at a time, and remove out-of-pocket costs for vasectomies and morning after pills, reports the Baltimore Sun.

Though the law will not go into effect until 2018, proponents applauded it for making birth control options cheaper and easier to access.

“When so many states and so many pockets of the country are trying to take away reproductive health care and take away rights of women, Maryland is saying, ‘We are going to provide more health care coverage and more access to birth control,'” said Karen Nelson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Maryland, said, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Nelson added that the new law far exceeds the “piecemeal provisions” that many other states are passing, although some Republicans in the General Assembly opposed it, saying federal law already requires some contraceptives to be covered without co-payment. Some insurance companies resisted the effort as well, since it could cost them money upfront. Others, however, called the birth control “preventative care” that will ultimately save money in the long run.

While party leaders in both the House of Delegates and the state Senate supported the bill, some Republicans did not agree that birth control constitutes preventative care and cited religious concerns.

“The Catholic Church is not in favor of artificial birth control or in vitro fertilization,” Republican State Sen. Ed Reilly said, according to Think Progress. “But health insurance is supposed to be designed to treat sickness or illness. Vasectomies and birth control aren’t either. You’re interrupting a normal healthy program that a person goes through.”

Maryland joins several other states relaxing their restrictions on birth control, including California and Oregon, who both recently enacted laws allowing women to pick up birth control pills from pharmacies without a doctor’s prescription.

“Family planning is essential for women’s rights and cost is a factor in family planning,” Maryland State Delegate Ariana Kelly, who sponsored the House bill, said. “This legislation is going to help eliminate barriers and reduce costs for women and for men.”

Sources: Baltimore Sun, Think Progress / Photo Credit: Carlos Camacho/Flickr