Congress to vote on federal law that would protect access to birth control

For the second time in two years, Congress is considering a bill that would protect access to contraception at the federal level.

If passed, the Right to Contraception Act would codify the right of Americans to have access to birth control pills, patches and implants, condoms, intrauterine devices (IUDs) and sterilization procedures, including vasectomies. It wouldn’t eliminate religious or personal belief exemptions, which allow health care providers to refrain from prescribing contraceptives to patients and insurance companies to choose not to cover them.

Why is a bill considered necessary?

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, there has been confusion about where certain contraception methods stand, and whether states can revoke access to some forms of birth control. Some conservative lawmakers have argued that IUDs and emergency birth control pills can be used to induce an abortion. Already, legislation has been discussed or proposed in Idaho, Missouri, Louisiana, Arkansas and Michigan aimed at restricting certain types of contraception, specifically IUDs.

An IUD is a device inserted into the bottom of the uterus that causes the mucus in the cervix to thicken, which makes it difficult for sperm to reach and fertilize an egg. It also thins the lining of the uterus, making it difficult for an egg to attach in the rare event it is fertilized. Emergency contraceptives prevent or delay ovulation, preventing fertilization, and do not elicit an abortion, the World Health Organization states.

House Democrats introduced and passed the Right to Contraception Act in 2022, at a time when Democrat Nancy Pelosi was speaker of the House. But the Senate never held a vote on the bill, stalling action.

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