House Passes Representative Angie Craig’s Legislation to Protect a Woman’s Fundamental Right to Accessing Contraception

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Congresswoman Angie Craig's Right to Contraception Act, which would shore up access to birth control in the wake of the Supreme Court's assault on reproductive rights and other fundamental freedoms. This legislation would codify the legal right for women to access devices and medication designed to prevent pregnancy – such as birth control pills, IUDs and condoms. The bill would also grant the Attorney General the ability to take civil action against any state or government official that implements or enforces legislation preventing access to these contraceptives.

Earlier today, Craig spoke on the House floor in support of the Right to Contraception Act. A full video of Representative Craig's remarks is available here.

"To tell you the truth, I am disappointed that we even have to be here today asking you all to support the very basic notion that women should be able to make their own health care and family planning decisions," said Representative Craig.

"For most of their lives, women across our country, including many in this very room, have relied on contraception like birth control or IUDs to make family planning decisions," Craig continued. "And yet, today – in the year 2022 – many of those women are wondering if they will see that personal freedom disappear. Which is tragic – and quite frankly absurd."

In a concurring opinion released last month following the reversal of Roe v. Wade, Justice Clarence Thomas argued that the Supreme Court should reconsider past rulings guaranteeing rights to contraception access – as well as same-sex marriage and other previously-recognized constitutional rights. And in 2021 alone, at last four states tried to ban access to some or all contraceptives – whileother states have targeted contraception by restricting Medicaid funding for providers of birth control.

The Right to Contraception Act has been endorsed by the National Women's Law Center, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, Power to Decide, National Partnership for Women & Families, Reproductive Health Access Project, Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs, Catholics for Choice, National Organization for Women, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Women's Health Network and Urge: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity.

Specifically, the Right to Contraception Act:

• Creates a statutory right for people to obtain and use contraceptives
• Establishes a corresponding right for health care providers to provide contraceptives and information related to contraception;
• Allows the Department of Justice, as well as providers and individuals harmed by restrictions on contraception access made unlawful under the legislation, to go to court to enforce these rights; and
• Protects a range of contraceptive methods, devices, and medications used to prevent pregnancy, including but not limited to oral contraceptives, emergency contraceptives, and intrauterine devices.

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