George Washington University Students Win Contraceptive Coverage in University Health Plan

GWU Changes Policy in Response to Demand Letter on Behalf of Female Students

The George Washington University Hospital.

In response to a demand letter sent by Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (TLPJ), and the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), the George Washington University (GWU) has agreed to add insurance coverage for prescription contraceptives to its Student Health Insurance Plan beginning in the 2002-03 academic year.

"We are extremely gratified that GWU has agreed to provide this coverage," said Amy Moses, one of the GWU law students on whose behalf the letter was written. "Not only is contraceptive coverage legally required, it is sound public health policy. Every student health plan should include contraceptive coverage."

Leslie Brueckner and Amy Moses in the TLPJ Law Library in Washington, D.C. Photo by Jonathan Hutson

In a November 7, 2001 letter sent on behalf of students at the GWU law school, the GWU administration was advised that the explicit exclusion of contraceptive coverage from the GWU Student Health Insurance Plan constitutes sex discrimination in violation of the District of Columbia Human Rights Act and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, a federal law. The letter was based in part on a recent federal court ruling, Erickson v. Bartell Drug Co., 141 F. Supp. 2d 1266 (W.D. Wash. 2001), which found that an employer’s exclusion of prescription contraceptives from an otherwise comprehensive health benefits plan is sex discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). The Erickson ruling was based in part on a December 2000 Decision by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which found that contraceptive exclusions violate Title VII. In addition, PPFA, TLPJ, and NWLC argued that the District of Columbia Human Rights Act mirrors the Title VII provision relied on by the Erickson court, but extends the right of contraceptive equity beyond employees to include students at educational institutions within the District.

PPFA, TLPJ, and NWLC also advised the GWU administration that the contraceptive exclusion violates the federal Title IX law, which prohibits all forms of sex discrimination by federally funded educational institutions.

The GWU students were represented by Eve C. Gartner and Donna Lee at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Leslie Brueckner at Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, and Jocelyn Samuels at National Women’s Law Center.

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