WASHINGTON — Since the fall of Roe, Republican state legislatures have waged war on reproductive freedoms – and there are no bounds to their extremism. Access to contraception has become the GOP’s latest target, with legislation undermining access to birth control and contraception cropping up in states across the country with alarming speed in 2024.
- 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 have 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.
In contrast to extreme Republican attacks on birth control, Democrats in state legislatures are fiercely leading the fight to protect contraception. Twelve states with Democratic legislatures – California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington – have legal protections for birth control. In legislative sessions this year, Democrats in states like Virginia, Minnesota, and Alabama have introduced bills to expand contraception access.
The best defense against Republican attacks on birth control is electing Democrats to state legislatures.
To read more, check out:
- The 19th: Democrats and Republicans keep colliding over contraception
- The Associated Press: A comment from Trump and GOP actions in the states put contraceptive access in the 2024 spotlight
- The Hill: Birth control is becoming a fierce new political battleground
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Heather Williams issued the following statement:
“Contraception should be a nonnegotiable reproductive right, but Republican lawmakers in state legislatures are honing in on birth control as their latest target. We knew Republicans were coming for abortion with the fall of Roe, but over the last two years, they’ve expanded their dangerous attacks on the full spectrum of reproductive care. Contraception empowers Americans to choose whether and how to build their families – Republican legislators deserve no role in shaping these decisions. Republicans’ anti-abortion extremism knows no bounds, and there’s no telling what could be next. The only way to block Republicans’ crusade is to elect Democrats to state legislatures who will relentlessly champion all reproductive 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.
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