On Friday, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted a preliminary injunction in the case of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Trump as to both the religious exemption and moral exemption rules of the Trump Administration regulations.

The Trump Administration rules would allow employers to exclude contraceptive coverage mandated by the Affordable Care Act from their employees' health insurance policies.

Last month, California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones submitted a declaration in State of California v. Wright, a related case, providing evidence that demonstrates the harms to women if the Trump rule denying women access to contraceptives is permitted to remain in effect.

"Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, health insurance policies must cover contraceptives. Tens of millions of women across the nation benefit from the ACA provision that requires health insurance coverage of contraceptives without any copays or deductibles,” said Jones.

He said Friday’s action by a Pennsylvania court “is a relief to all of us fighting to ensure that women have access to contraceptives. President Trump's rule that is now subject to a nationwide temporary injunction would otherwise permit employers to interfere with women's constitutionally protected right to make their own health care decisions by allowing employers to deny women access to contraceptives.”

Before the ACA was in effect, Jones said he spoke to women who could not always afford to fill their prescriptions for contraceptives.

“President Trump's regulations would prevent some women from being able to make fundamental decisions about reproductive health care for themselves,” Jones said. “Trump's rule, if allowed to stand, would deprive women of their rights and access to basic health care services, while increasing the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions. The federal judge in Pennsylvania acknowledged that Trump's anti-contraceptive rules are contrary to federal law. Women will suffer serious and irreparable harm if these rules are in place and we will continue to do everything in our power to prevent that from occurring."