The Affordable Care Act is Upheld - A Victory for Women's Health in Connecticut and Across the Nation

NEW HAVEN, CT (June 28, 2012) On Thursday, June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled the Affordable Care Act constitutional. This is a major victory for the health of women and families. The Affordable Care Act is the greatest advance in women’s health in a generation, providing numerous benefits for women’s health, including access to birth control and cancer screenings without co-pays, guaranteeing women direct access to OB/GYN providers without referrals, and ending discriminatory practices against women, such as charging women higher premiums and denying coverage for “pre-existing conditions.”

“This is a remarkable day for women’s health,” exclaimed Judy Tabar President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England. “Today’s ruling will affect millions of women in such a positive way. 35,000 women in Rhode Island and 80,000 in Connecticut are in need of publicly funded family-planning services but are currently not being served. This will change tremendously.”

Because of today’s ruling, millions of women will have access to birth control without a co-pay starting in August 2012 – protecting their health, saving them money, and giving them control over whether and when to start families. Furthermore, this decision means that millions of women will have access to affordable, quality health care – many of whom had no coverage or inadequate coverage before. More than 45 million women have already received coverage for preventive health screenings at no cost since August 2010 – including mammograms and Pap tests – and millions more will be able to get free screenings in the coming years because this law will remain intact.

Planned Parenthood knows firsthand how important this law – and this decision – is for women and families, because we see the need for affordable health care every day. One in five women in America relies on Planned Parenthood at some point in their lives. As the leading provider of women’s health care, Planned Parenthood of Southern New England stands firmly alongside women, families, and patients across this country whose access to affordable, quality health care is transformed by the Affordable Care Act.