President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package received mixed reviews from women’s rights activists last week. A new law supporting the right to equal pay has been praised as a major step forward for women. However, financing for contraceptives was ultimately dropped from the package. It is suggested that this move will impede women’s rights and increase costs in the long run.

In a symbolic act, the first bill President Obama signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act. This piece of legislation expands the time period for filing pay-discrimination claims. Henceforth, victims may file claims against their employer within 180 days of any discriminatory paycheck. Claimants were previously limited by a 2007 Supreme Court decision that stated they could only file claims against their employer within 180 days of their first unfair paycheck, even if they did not learn of the problem until years later.

“The bill dramatically improves a woman’s chance to fight pay discrimination,” said Meghan Rhaod, researcher in the women’s rights division of Human Rights Watch. “And it greatly improves the fairness of the system for everyone.”

More controversially, provisions of the economic stimulus proposal which supported access to contraceptives were removed by members of Congress with President Obama’s support after protests from some congressional members. The provisions would have allowed states to expand access to contraceptives under Medicaid.

Human Rights Watch criticised the move, stating that access to contraceptives enables women and their families to make considered decisions about the number and spacing of their children, and that current policies penalize those with limited financial capacity. Further, a 2007 Congressional Budget Office analysis of an almost identical proposal estimated that funding for contraceptives would save $200 million over five years, including money Medicaid would otherwise have spent on services related to unintended pregnancies.