Attorney General Raúl Torrez Defends Access to Contraceptive Care

State Agency Press Release – From the New Mexico Department of Justice

Albuquerque, NM – Attorney General Raúl Torrez today joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief challenging Trump Administration regulations issued in 2017 and 2018 that undermine the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) guarantee of no-cost contraception coverage by employers.

The Trump regulations expand religious and moral exemptions to allow employers to strip workers of guaranteed, no-cost coverage for contraceptive care.

In their brief, Attorney General Torrez and the coalition urge the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to affirm the District Court’s ruling that the regulations are unlawful.

“For tens of thousands of New Mexico women, contraception is simply routine health care — and they deserve the same access to it as any other essential preventive service,” said Attorney General Raúl Torrez.

“Shifting that cost onto working families creates real financial harm and undermines that access. From defending the ACA’s contraceptive coverage requirements in federal court to filing an extraordinary writ to strike down unlawful local abortion bans, I am using every legal tool available to make sure women in our state can count on the care they need.”

Today, more than 80% of women ages 18 to 49 report having used some form of contraception in the past 12 months.

With contraception cost running an average of $584 per user per year, these unlawful regulations could shift an estimated $73.8 million in costs to individuals who rely on contraceptive care, creating considerable barriers to accessing safe, effective health care.

The coalition also argues that states will face significant financial strain as they are forced to expend millions of dollars for replacement contraceptive care and services through state-funded programs.

Access to birth control and contraceptive care has been substantially reduced in the years since these regulations were first implemented, and this harm will be exacerbated if the regulations remain in place because of changes in the landscape for reproductive health care.

Many clinics that provide reproductive health care services – which would have helped fill the gap these regulations create – have since had their funding decimated by the Trump Administration.

Moreover, a wave of cruel abortion restrictions following the overturning of Roe v. Wade has further constrained the options available to women experiencing unintended pregnancies.

The coalition argues that by limiting access to necessary contraceptive care, the unlawful regulations deepen already prevalent racial, gender, and income disparities.

People of color and people with low incomes are disproportionately likely to live in “contraceptive deserts,” or areas that lack reasonable access to the full range of contraceptive care.

The regulations threaten to exacerbate these already significant health disparities and make accessing birth control even more challenging for marginalized communities.

Attorney General Torrez and the coalition urge the Court to affirm the District Court’s judgment striking down the Trump Administration’s regulations and protect access to birth control and contraceptive care for hundreds of thousands of women across the country.

Joining Attorney General Torrez in filing this brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

Amicus Brief Filed by 23 States Attorneys General