Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) voted for the Right to Contraception Act, H.R. 8373, to codify the right for Americans to access contraception and to protect the right of health care providers to provide contraceptives.  Congresswoman Fletcher is an original co-sponsor of the Right to Contraception Act. 

“As an original co-sponsor of the bill, I was glad to once again vote to protect the health, privacy, dignity, and freedom of women and families across this country by voting for the Right to Contraception Act,” said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher.  “The bill responds to the very real threats to access to reproductive health care and to bodily autonomy we face today.  The bill also reflects the position of the vast majority of Americans who rely on contraception of all kinds to plan their families and their lives.”

The effort to pass federal legislation comes after a concurring opinion by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization explicitly called on the Supreme Court to reconsider its decisions protecting other fundamental rights, including the right to use contraceptives, recognized in Griswold v. Connecticut.  If enacted, the Right to Contraception Act would:

• Create a federal right for people to obtain contraceptives; 
• Establish a right for health care providers to provide contraceptives and information related to contraception; 
• Allow the Department of Justice, as well as providers and individuals harmed by restrictions on contraception access made unlawful under the legislation, to go to court to enforce these rights; and 
• Protect access to a range of contraceptive methods, devices, and medications used to prevent pregnancy, including but not limited to oral contraceptives, emergency contraceptives, and intrauterine devices (IUDs).

Prior to the vote, Congresswoman Fletcher took to the floor to urge for it.  You can see her remarks here.