It’s the second time in two years that Congress is considering a protection bill access to contraception at the federal level.
If passed, the Contraceptive Bill of Rights Act would codify Americans’ right to access birth control pills, patches and implants, condoms, intrauterine devices (IUDs), and sterilization procedures, including vasectomies. It would not eliminate religious or personal belief exemptions that allow healthcare providers to avoid prescribing contraceptives to patients and insurance companies to choose not to cover them.
Why is the bill considered necessary?
In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. After overturning Wade, there has been confusion over where certain methods of contraception stand and whether states can eliminate access to some forms of birth control. Some conservative lawmakers have argued that IUDs and emergency birth control pills can be used to induce abortions. Legislation aimed at restricting certain types of contraception, particularly IUDs, has already been discussed or proposed in Idaho, Missouri, Louisiana, Arkansas and Michigan.
It is an RIA device is inserted into the bottom of the uterus, which causes the mucus in the cervix to thicken, making it difficult for the sperm to reach the egg and fertilize it. It also thins the lining of the uterus and makes it harder for the egg to stick inside a rare event fertilized. Emergency contraceptives prevent or delay ovulation, prevent fertilization and do not cause abortion, World Health Organization states.
House Democrats introduced and passed the contraceptive bill of rights in 2022, while Democrat Nancy Pelosi was Speaker of the House. But the Senate never voted on the bill, stalling action.
House Democrats on Tuesday made moves To prevent this from happening again, this time with a motion to dismiss in the House. A petition that requires the support of at least some members of the House GOP to pass, It will force House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, to hold a vote on the issue.
In the United States, the legal right to contraception is currently protected by Roe v. Wade is protected by two important Supreme Court decisions similar to Griswold Connecticut and Eisenstadt Baird. Legal decisions about contraception are based on the results of these cases, a concept called law. But the precedent set by these cases is open to interpretation, potentially allowing new court cases that limit contraceptive options to be filed, and setting new precedent that could favor restrictions. In 2022, Roe v. That’s what happened to Wade Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org.
New York emergency physician and former regional director of the US Department of Health and Human Services Dr. “This bill doesn’t force people to prescribe contraception, it doesn’t force people to buy contraception,” said Dara Kass. “This bill guarantees that if someone wants to get contraception, they will be able to use it, and that access cannot be revoked.”
As for the 2022 version of the bill, some Republican politicians, including Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida, He said there was no need for legislationcalled it a fear-mongering technique led by the Democratic Party.
However, Justice Clarence Thomas said in 2022 that the Supreme Court should do so revise and cancel past landmark decisions, including Griswold v. Connecticut.
“What worries me about the lack of law are the very clear indications that some people, including some Supreme Court justices, have shown an appetite to overturn Griswold the way they overturned Roe,” McGrath said.
What will happen next?
If the Contraceptive Rights Act passes, which is highly unlikely, the bill will become a law or a written law that leaves no room for interpretation as to which types of birth control are protected, Kathy Hoake said. Public Health Law Network Eastern Region.
motion, P.4381defines contraception as “any drug, device, or biological product that is approved, authorized, authorized, or licensed for use to prevent pregnancy, to prevent pregnancy, or for other health needs.” Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act or Public Health Service Act.
“It brings attention to the issue,” said Hoake, a law professor at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law, in the unlikely event of the bill’s passage.
Congress could also re-propose legislation to protect contraception. For now, access to contraception outside religious or personal belief exceptions is protected by existing landmark Supreme Court cases.
“This bill is really designed to put existing protections into federal law,” said Mindy McGrath, senior program director of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association. “But the Griswold decision still stands.”
As of May 2024, 14 states, including Washington, DC, have legal protections for access to contraception. Grassroots organizations are working to continue expanding access to birth control, especially in states where abortion is strictly prohibited.
As the Senate voted on the Contraceptive Rights Act this week, Omaha Women’s Foundation Executive Director Jo Giles was the organization’s third sexual health machine in a restaurant in town.
The foundation’s first two machines — offering emergency contraception for $8 and pregnancy tests for $3 — are already operating at the Nebraska AIDS Project and a bar in the city’s popular Benson neighborhood.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed a state law last year forbids abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
“It’s scary to think about the efforts to limit access to products that people want to use that are safe and regulated by the FDA,” Giles said. “Ahead of that, we’re innovating to make sure people have what they need, when they need it.”