NORTHWEST INDIANA - Access to contraceptives in Indiana could be up for grabs and State Representative Mara Candelaria Reardon, a Democrat from Munster, is worried.
Candelaria Reardon expressed concern after the Supreme Court of the United States began hearing arguments in Trump v. Pennsylvania and Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania as a consolidated case.
According to a news release, the two cases combined will determine whether employers and universities can deny insurance coverage of contraceptives on the basis of moral or religious objections, and undermine the birth control benefit of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The State Representative says where someone works or where someone attends school should not determine whether or not they have access to birth control. She adds that quality, affordable contraception shouldn't be controversial or up for debate in the year 2020.
It's Candelaria Reardon's fear that this Supreme Court decision could potentially leave thousands of women across Indiana in a dire financial or health situation. She says without access to contraception from employers, women will have to seek alternative ways to get coverage or pay high out of pocket costs.
Approximately 62 million women have benefited from the birth control provision in the Affordable Care Act. Before the legislation, contraception totaled 30% of women's out of pocket health care costs.
