Rep. Cleaver Votes to Enshrine Right to Contraception into Federal Law

Press Release

Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) voted in favor of H.R. 8373, the Right to Contraception Act, to protect the fundamental right to contraception and enshrine this right in federal law. Specifically, the legislation would ensure that neither states nor a hostile Administration can limit Americans' access to contraceptives or the ability of health care providers to provide contraceptives and information related to them. The legislation was passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 228-195.

"With the Supreme Court's extreme decision to overturn fifty years of precedent by overruling Roe v. Wade, they have made it abundantly clear that other fundamental freedoms that Americans rely on are on the chopping block. One of those is the right to contraception," said Congressman Cleaver. "While I was proud to join 228 lawmakers on a bipartisan basis to defend the American people's right to make their own family decisions free from government intrusion, I find it mind boggling that 195 Republicans would prefer to leave those decisions in the hands of politicians in state legislatures--which is why the federal protections we passed today are so important."

Ninety-nine percent
of U.S. women who have been sexually active report having used some form of contraception, and ninety-six percent of voters support having access to contraception. In addition to contraceptives being crucial to preventing unintended pregnancies, they also prevent and treat a wide array of medical conditions and decrease the risk of certain cancers.

By overruling Roe v. Wade, the Republican supermajority on the Supreme Court has now called into question the constitutionality of contraception, marriage equality, and other rights that stem from the right to privacy guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment. Justice Clarence Thomas explicitly stated

so in his concurrence in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, contending that the Supreme Court should reconsider "all of this Court's substantive due process precedents, including Griswold"--the landmark case that first recognized the Constitutional right to use contraceptives.

Some Republican legislators, such as legislators in Idaho and Louisiana, have used the Dobbs decision to try to block or ban certain contraceptive methods, such as emergency contraception and long-acting reversible contraception like intrauterine devices (IUDs). Previously, the Missouri State Legislature has tried to ban common forms of contraceptives from being paid for by the state's Medicaid program. Now that Roe has been overturned, one Republican state legislator noted that "anything's on the table" in terms of contraceptive limits.

To protect Americans' fundamental right to contraception, the Right to Contraception Act would:

Establish a statutory right to obtain contraceptives and to engage in contraception, and for health care providers to provide contraceptives, contraception, and information related to contraception.
Protect against any state laws that attempt to restrict access to contraceptives and affirms the Attorney General's enforcement authority to bring civil actions against any state that attempts to do so.
Establish a private right of action for individuals to enforce their right to obtain contraceptives and for health care providers to enforce their right to provide contraceptives and information related to contraception.

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