JUDGE IN TEXAS STRIKES DOWN ACCESS TO PREP

Jason Parsley

For 10 years PrEP has been hailed to lower HIV infection rates. When used properly the drug lowers the risk of HIV by at least 99% among gay and bi men and trans women.

In the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, judge Reed O’Connor ruled that forcing companies to cover PrEP as a part of their employee insurance violates the religious freedom of companies that object to LGBT people.

Eight individuals and two businesses from Texas filed the lawsuit. They claim the free PrEP requirement forces business owners to pay for services that encourage homosexuality, prostitution, sexual promiscuity, and intravenous drug abuse.

One plaintiff also objected to having to cover screenings for sexually transmitted diseases, contraceptives, and counseling for unmarried people.

But the activist judge did not stop there.

He also ruled the Affordable Care Act’s Preventive Services Task Force, the agency that decides what services need to be covered, is unconstitutional.

“The Affordable Care Act requires that some of the most basic preventive services be included in services,” said Stephen Fallon, the executive director of Latinos Salud. “From prenatal care to PrEP to annual check-ups, these life-saving and inexpensive services should not be subject to an ideological exemption.”