Texas Lawyer Behind Abortion Ban Takes Aim at HIV Prevention
- Access to Gilead life-saving drugs put at risk by lawsuit
- US says if mandate struck down health costs will rise
Protesters take part in the Women's March and Rally for Abortion Justice at the State Capitol in Austin, Texas
Photographer: Sergio Flores/AFP/Getty Images
Groundbreaking drugs that prevent HIV infection may be harder to get in the US if a prominent Texas lawyer wins a lawsuit that pits his clients’ religious beliefs against free nationwide access to the medicines.
At issue are Gilead Sciences Inc.’s Truvada and Descovy, forms of pre-exposure prophylaxis commonly known as PrEP that are taken daily by hundreds of thousands of Americans, particularly men who have sex with men. The drugs were added last year to a list of preventive services like cancer screenings and polio vaccinations that most health insurance plans are required to cover at no cost under a provision of the federal Affordable Care Act.