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(Reuters) – President Barack Obama, in an abrupt policy shift aimed at quelling an election-year firestorm, announced on Friday that religious employers would not be required to offer free birth control to workers and that the onus would instead be put on insurers.
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The plan would ensure affordability is no longer a factor for obtaining contraception.
Members of two Food and Drug Administration advisory committees voted for use of the progestin-only pill without a prescription.
Policy advocates, doctors and families agree: abortion care access and benefits can save lives.
The new rule would reverse a 2018 Trump policy that limited contraceptive access based on employers' religious or moral objections.
Dr. Mary Jacobson, an OB-GYN and chief medical officer at Alpha Medical, warns employers against ignoring women's health challenges in the new year.
