--- title: Donald Trump: States Fighting to Protect Reproductive Rights description: Some states are trying to pass laws to keep abortion access and birth control intact in case of changes at federal level under Donald Trump canonical: https://time.com/4663777/states-protect-reproductive-rights/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-08T18:50:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T03:12:25.426Z article:section: Health og:title: How These States Are Fighting to Protect Reproductive Rights og:description: Amid uncertainty over the future of reproductive health care coverage in the U.S. og:url: https://time.com/4663777/states-protect-reproductive-rights/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20b89acac69ee4c3/6987788606f2c181f13333e7/birth-control-pills-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: TIME.com stock photos Birth Control Pills og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How These States Are Fighting to Protect Reproductive Rights twitter:description: Amid uncertainty over the future of reproductive health care coverage in the U.S. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt20b89acac69ee4c3/6987788606f2c181f13333e7/birth-control-pills-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How These States Are Fighting to Protect Reproductive Rights > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Feb 8, 2017 6:50 PM UTC  Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Feb 8, 2017 6:50 PM UTC Amid uncertainty over the future of reproductive health care coverage in the U.S., some states are going on the offensive. [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/4663607/president-trumps-travel-ban-faced-its-toughest-test-yet/) has pledged to repeal the [Affordable Care Act](http://time.com/4637918/jimmy-kimmel-obamacare-vs-affordable-care-act/) — citing a [potential replacement](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/05/us/politics/donald-trump-health-care-law-repeal-replace-plan.html?smid=tw-share) in the next year or so — but hasn’t been clear on whether the new law will retain access to birth control without co-pays. Although Trump’s nomination of [Neil Gorsuch](http://time.com/4653790/donald-trump-neil-gorsuch-supreme-court/?xid=homepage) for the Supreme Court is unlikely to lead to an immediate repeal of _Roe v. Wade_, the president has long cited the possibility that adding an anti-abortion rights judge to the court could reverse the ruling. In response, some states that favor current laws regarding birth control and abortion care coverage are introducing bills that could keep access intact should changes happen. “There are states all around the country that have their eye on what is happening at the national level, and looking at what can we do in our state,” says Lorie Chaiten, director of the women’s and reproductive rights project for ACLU of Illinois. **Oregon** Legislators in Oregon introduced a bill in January called the Reproductive Health Equity Act (House Bill [2232](https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2017R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB2232/Introduced)) that is intended to ensure insurance providers in the state cover contraception without copays, even in the event that the Affordable Care Act is repealed. It would also ensure similar coverage for reproductive health care services like sexually transmitted disease screenings and abortion. It also prohibits insurers from discriminating against a person based on their gender identity. **Illinois** The Illinois Abortion Law of 1975 currently states that if the Supreme Court ever overturns _Roe v. Wade_, abortion will become illegal in the state. [House Bill 40](http://www.aclu-il.org/access-to-abortion-in-illinois22/), which was introduced by legislators in January, seeks to repeal that provision in the law. It also seeks to ensure that women using Medicaid and State Employee Health Insurance will have abortion coverage. “If the Supreme Court ever overturns Roe, immediately in the state of Illinois all abortions become illegal and criminalized,” Illinois Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, who introduced House Bill 40, [told the Chicago Sun Times](http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/steinberg-abortion-trigger-law-a-nightmare-scenario-for-women/). “To get ahead of what might be a nightmare scenario for women in this state, we should strike those words. We need to be ready in case the worst happens, the unthinkable.” **New York** In late January, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo [proposed a ballot amendment](http://motto.time.com/4655544/new-york-abortion-rights-constitution/) that would put women’s right to an abortion in the state constitution. The governor [announced his plan](https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-photos-rush-transcript-governor-cuomo-proposes-constitutional-amendment-codifying-roe-v) at a rally in support of Planned Parenthood, arguing New Yorkers should have the right to vote on the issue. Through this process, access would remain in place in the event that Roe v. Wade is overturned or changed by the Supreme Court. 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