Washington DC - The Biden administration is scrapping a set of proposed rules to expand access to birth control, just weeks before Donald Trump is set to take office.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Monday in a Federal Registrar notice that it was rescinding the proposed regulations, which would have made it more difficult for employers to exclude contraception coverage for employees.

The rules, first proposed last year, also would have created a workaround for people employed by religious organizations that object to birth control coverage, allowing them to access contraception for no charge directly through a health care provider.

"The Departments have determined it appropriate to withdraw the proposed rules at this time to focus their time and resources on matters other than finalizing these rules," the notice states.

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The decision will leave in place Trump-era rules permitting employers – religious or secular – to declare "non-religious moral objections" to the Affordable Care Act's requirement to cover contraception.

The HHS move comes as sexual and reproductive rights are under attack following the Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade protections and the recent rise in anti-abortion measures in states around the country.