The Schusterman Family Foundation is deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania, which could exempt virtually all employers from the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) requirement that they offer insurance coverage of birth control with no out-of-pocket costs to their employees. The decision allows employers and universities with religious or moral objections to contraceptives to keep reproductive healthcare out of reach for Americans.

This ruling jeopardizes the economic security and reproductive health of hundreds of thousands of people who rely on their insurance coverage for affordable contraception. The National Women's Law Center estimates that 61.4 million women will now find themselves, their health and their autonomy at the discretion of their employers and universities. It will cause the most harm to those who already face significant obstacles to accessing healthcare, including communities struggling to make ends meet, young people and people of color. People should not have to struggle for basic access to birth control, especially amid a global pandemic, a collective reckoning with racial injustice and a prolonged economic crisis.

Several of our grantees within our Gender and Reproductive Equity portfolio have been active in the fight for reproductive justice and have spoken out in response to the ruling.

Clare Coleman, President and CEO of The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, said, “All people should be able to make the family planning decisions that are best for themselves and their loved ones. The Supreme Court’s decision, which will upend progress toward achieving health care equity, is incredibly disconcerting … Our efforts to ensure this vital insurance coverage for all patients will not wane.” Read the NFPRHA statement. ​​​​​

Sheila Katz, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), said: “Our reproductive freedoms are integrally bound to our religious liberty and we are committed to advancing the goals of reproductive justice so every person can make moral and faith-informed decisions about their body, health, and family free from restrictions and stigma.” Read the NCJW statement.

Together with our partners, we remain committed to the fight to advance reproductive rights and reproductive justice and to ensuring that every person in our country, inclusive of race, gender identity, zip code and income level, has autonomy over their bodies and access to the full range of reproductive healthcare.