WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Senate failed to pass a measure that would have established legal protections for contraceptives – ensuring that decisions around access to birth control will continue to be decided by the states. Republican state legislatures have only gotten more extreme in their attacks on reproductive freedom since the fall of Roe. Efforts to undermine codifying access to birth control and legislation undermining contraceptives has cropped up in states across the country with alarming speed in 2024
In 2024 alone, GOP-controlled legislatures across the country have targeted birth control:
- In Oklahoma, the Republican legislature advanced legislation that could create a database of women who’ve obtained an abortion and could make IUDs and emergency contraception inaccessible.
- In Arizona, every Republican in both legislative chambers blocked legislation to protect access to contraception.
- In Wisconsin, Republicans refused to schedule a vote on a bill that would have codified a right to birth control.
- In Tennessee, House Republicans voted down a bill in committee that would have clarified that the state’s abortion ban does not threaten access to contraceptive care or fertility treatments.
- In Missouri, Republicans threatened the fate of a comprehensive bill to support women’s health care – including bolstering access to contraception – because Republicans are conflating birth control with abortion medication.
By contrast, twelve states with Democratic legislatures already have legal protections for birth control. And this year, Democrats in states like Virginia, Minnesota, and Alabama have introduced or passed bills to expand contraception access.
Control of state legislatures has never been more important – especially since Trump has said he would leave birth control and contraception up to the states.
Electing Democrats to state legislatures this year is the strongest path to protect reproductive freedoms.
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee National Press Secretary Sam Paisley issued the following statement:
“In the absence of federal protections around reproductive freedoms, states are on the frontlines of shaping the full spectrum of reproductive care. Disturbingly, Republicans at the state level are intensifying attacks on birth control at an alarming speed, even though contraception is safe, effective, and used by 90 percent of women. To stop this anti-woman MAGA agenda from taking hold, building Democratic power in the states is essential. We must take our outrage to state legislative elections and vote for Democrats who have a proven record of protecting fundamental freedoms. Today is a stark reminder of what we’ve known since Dobbs: state legislatures are now the true arbiters of reproductive rights and freedoms.”
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is the official Democratic Party committee dedicated to winning America’s state legislatures and building state infrastructure. Over the last decade, we have fought cycle-over-cycle to gain a dozen new legislative chamber majorities and we are leading the effort to bring national attention and investment to our ballot level. State legislatures are the building blocks of our democracy and have the closest connections to Americans’ day-to-day lives. From protecting fundamental freedoms and voting rights to growing the middle class, the DLCC and state legislators are moving the Democratic agenda forward and shaping the future of this country.
###
