The Threat
Despite overwhelming public support, the constitutional right to contraception is already being targeted by a range of candidates and policymakers who oppose reproductive health care, and indeed by the Supreme Court itself. Here are just SOME examples:
- In July 2022, the Right to Contraception Act was introduced on the floor of the House of Representatives and 195 members of the House, including more than 90% of Republicans, voted against it. The bill protected our right to condoms, IUDs, the pill, patches, emergency contraception, the ring - all of it.
- In his concurring opinion of Dobbs, Justice Clarence Thomas voiced support for overturning Griswold v. Connecticut – a decision made in 1965 that ensured married couples could buy contraception. Specifically, he wrote that because the legal basis for Roe v. Wade is also the basis for other rights, including the right to contraception, the decision recognizing that right (Griswold) should therefore be “reconsider[ed].”
- U.S. Governors are working against contraception – even when it means working against their own party. In Nevada, Governor Lombardo vetoed the bipartisan Right to Contraception Act, which would have protected the right to basic contraception for all Nevadans and ensured healthcare providers can prescribe contraception to anyone who wants it. In Florida, Gov. DeSantis blocked bipartisan funding championed by the former pro-life Republican President of the Florida Senate to ensure access to contraception for low-income families.
- Other Governors have left the door open to banning contraception. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp was caught on audio saying he was open to banning contraception. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves refused to rule out banning contraception.
- Multiple U.S. representatives have falsely equated birth control and abortion (Rep. Matt Rosendale, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Rep. Lauren Boebert all did so as part of their official work in Congress!)
- U.S. Senators have called into question whether there is a federal constitutional right to contraception. Senator Mike Braun of Indiana believes the issue should be left to the states. Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee has stated that the right to contraception is “constitutionally unsound.”
- Organizations are mobilizing against contraception. National anti-abortion groups -- like Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America (SBA), National Right to Life (NRLC), and the Catholic Medical Association -- all lobbied against the Right to Contraception Act. Students for Life oppose certain kinds of contraception, including the pill, IUDs, and emergency contraception.