A US federal judge has blocked new Trump administration regulations on birth control from applying across the entire country.

The rules allow employers and insurers to decline to provide birth control if doing so violates their "religious beliefs" or "moral convictions".

The rules were to come into effect nationwide from Monday.
But the judge in Philadelphia granted an injunction requested by attorneys general in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Judge Wendy Beetlestone ruled that the new rules would make it more difficult for many women to obtain free contraception and would be an undue burden on US states.

Her decision follows a similar verdict by a judge in California on Sunday. However, that verdict only covered 13 states and Washington DC.

Fifty-five million women benefited from the original Obama-era rule, which made companies provide free birth control.

Before taking office, President Donald Trump pledged to eliminate the requirement.

California attorney general Xavier Becerra said in a statement: "It's 2019, yet the Trump administration is still trying to roll back women's rights.

"The law couldn't be clearer - employers have no business interfering in women's healthcare decisions."

But the US Department of Justice said in court documents that the new rules defended "a narrow class of sincere religious and moral objectors" and stopped them from conducting practices "that conflict with their beliefs".

Source: BBC

BDST: 1432 HRS, JAN 15, 2019
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