Groundbreaking birth control legislation passed in Maryland

It was a celebration for women and men on both sides of the isle in Maryland on Tuesday. A major leap has just been made in reproductive healthcare.

Delegate Ariana Kelly, a co-sponsor for HB1005/SB848 says, “We need to plan our pregnancies in order to finish our education. We need to plan our pregnancies in order to do our work, both to support ourselves and families, and to fulfill our dreams.”

Maryland has become the first state in the U.S. to legislate the most comprehensive insurance coverage of birth control. It’s aimed at filling holes left in the Affordable Care Act.

Karen J. Nelson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Maryland says, “What this bill does is it closes those gaps and takes away any time constraints, convenience constraints, and money constraints.”

The law gets rid of most birth control co-payments for women and vasectomy co-pays for men. It does away with pre-authorization requirements for females getting IUD’s and implants. It also allows women to get a six month supply of birth control at a time. In addition, it makes Maryland the first state to give insurance coverage for over-the-counter contraceptive medications, like plan B.

Nelson says, “It’s crazy because in so many places across the country, sometimes it feels like we’re going backwards. We constantly have to fight for our rights and bold people have to fight for reproductive healthcare.”

This development is establishing Maryland as somewhat of a health trailblazer. In 1998, it was the first state to mandate contraceptive coverage. The fight Nelson is referencing is specifically happening on the federal level. Planned Parenthood funding has been repeatedly threatened, according to Congressman Chris Van Hollen.

Van Hollen says legislators on the federal level should, “Use the Maryland example nationally.”

This new law will take effect on January first 2018.