Scrapping Moral Exemption to Contraceptive Coverage Draws Ire

The Biden administration’s push to stop private health plans from using moral objections to avoid covering contraceptive services is stirring strong opposition from a coalition of familiar foes.

Religious groups, anti-abortion organizations, and conservative think tanks are panning a proposed rule that would rescind the so-called “moral exemption” that allows insurers to withhold coverage of contraceptive services that are otherwise mandated by the Affordable Care Act.

The ACA generally requires non-grandfathered group health plans and non-grandfathered individual insurers to cover certain contraceptive services, such as birth control and contraceptive counseling, at no cost to enrollees. But in 2018, the Trump ...