The Brattleboro Reformer featured Mark Hulsether, a UT religious studies professor, in an opinion piece examining a new Vermont law and contraceptive coverage. In 2016, the Vermont Legislature passed and then Gov. Peter Shumlin signed into law H.260, requiring health insurance plans to provide free contraceptive coverage.
However, in October, the Trump administration issued an executive order that would provide conscience protections to Americans who have a religious or moral objection to paying for health insurance that covers contraceptive/abortifacient services.
The rule itself is really “about controlling women’s bodies and devaluing all forms of sexual expression except between married heterosexuals who are trying to conceive — as opposed to ‘defending life,’” said Hulsether.