WASHINGTON, DC – In an effort to ensure access to and availability of safe and effective contraception for women and families, and to halt right-wing attacks on women’s reproductive health care and well-being, and the ability of doctors to prescribe contraceptives, the U.S. Senate will vote today on the Right to Contraception Act (S. 4381). 

The Right to Contraception Act would codify the legal right for individuals to obtain and use contraception and for health care providers to offer contraceptive services, information, and referrals.  To protect all Americans’ right to access birth control, the bill would prevent both the federal government and states from enacting or enforcing laws that restrict the sale or use of contraception.

The measure is led by U.S. Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and cosponsored by U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and 45 of their U.S. Senate colleagues.

“Access to contraception should be a secure American right, free from government interference.  MAGA Republican lawmakers are attempting to limit people’s medical options and reproductive freedom by denying them access to things like fertility treatment and family planning services.  That can negatively impact people’s health and socio-economic well-being,” said Senator Reed.  “This commonsense legislation is needed to shield American women and their doctors from right wing attacks on their reproductive rights.”

The legislation is being considered after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling, which effectively overturned Roe v Wade.  Siding with the majority in that ruling, Justice Clarence Thomas argued in his concurring opinion that in future cases, the Court should reconsider precedent that relied on the same principles as Roe – including Griswold v. Connecticut, the Court’s 1965 landmark decision that recognized the right of married people to obtain contraceptives – and overturn those decisions.  Further, Republican state lawmakers have introduced legislation in some states to ban common forms of birth control, including intrauterine devices (IUDs) and oral contraceptives like “the morning after pill”, while other states have begun taking away funding for access to contraceptives and allowing health care providers to refuse to provide or cover contraception.

Fourteen states – including Rhode Island – currently have legal or constitutional protections for the right to contraception.  The other states include: California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, as well as Washington, DC.