Tester Defends Montanans’ Access to Affordable Family Planning

Senator Holds Administration Accountable for Blocking Women’s Contraceptive Care

(Montana)–U.S. Senator Jon Tester today issued the following statement after the Administration rolled back access to affordable birth control:

“This decision will make it more expensive for families to plan for the future and stay healthy. Washington politicians need to get their noses out of Montanans’ personal lives, and stop meddling in our private lives.”

Nearly nine in 10 women of reproductive age will use contraception for family planning or other medical reasons. There are 188,000 women of reproductive age in Montana. The U.S. is at the lowest rate of unintended pregnancy in 30 years, and a historic low of pregnancy among teens because of expanded access to birth control and sex education.

Tester is sponsoring the Save Women’s Preventive Care Act, which would guarantee that insurance companies cover women’s health services including birth control, breast cancer screenings, and annual well women exams without charging a copay or deductible.