Earlier this month, Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, a Democrat from Houston, reintroduced legislation that would guarantee patients the right to obtain and use birth control and healthcare providers the right to provide and share information about it. 

In theory, the legislation should be easy to pass: About 65 percent of U.S. women aged 15-49 use some form of contraception, and the legislation is supported by 81 percent of Americans—making it more popular than the beach (which 72 percent of Americans say they like), and only 1 percentage point less popular than apple pie. It’s hard to find this high level of support among anything these days.

And yet, the two other times lawmakers have introduced this legislation, it’s been stymied by Republicans.

Fletcher says protecting access to birth control is especially critical this year, as the atmosphere around reproductive healthcare for both patients and providers is fraught with confusion, fear and uncertainty. Earlier this month, the Trump administration scrubbed thousands of pages of public health data from government websites, including CDC guidance around contraception. (As of this writing, some of this information is back up.) Project 2025—the right-wing blueprint for presidential power that President Trump has been largely following—aims to limit access to certain forms of birth control. And on the state level, at least eight states have enacted or proposed restrictions on contraceptive access.

Rep. Fletcher was elected to the House in 2019, defeating a nine-term incumbent Republican to become the first woman and first Democrat to represent Texas’ 7th Congressional District. She and I spoke earlier this week about the state of reproductive healthcare and contraceptive access, and the importance of leaving the door wide open for the women that follow her.

Roxanne Szal: Last week, you and some of your colleagues reintroduced the Right to Contraception Act in the House, with companion legislation in the Senate. In the past, Republicans have stood in the way of this legislation, arguing that the bill was unnecessary because the use of birth control is already protected under Supreme Court precedent. Sen. John Cornyn went so far as to say that suggesting birth control is “somehow … in jeopardy … should be embarrassing.” 

What do you say in response to that? Is birth control in jeopardy, and if so, how?

Rep. Lizzie Fletcher: Absolutely. Our right to make our own decisions about our own bodies, our own families and our own futures, including accessing contraception of our choosing, is absolutely in jeopardy. 

These are tough days for Texas women in particular, and I appreciate that you understand that. For the last couple of years, and certainly in the fall with the [Harris] campaign, you saw these brave Texas women coming out and telling their stories, largely relating to abortion care and access because of the state of the law in Texas. 

But the fact is, the same people who have been crusading against abortion rights for decades aren’t stopping there. They have their eyes set on contraception and birth control. 

For example, Texas is one of seven states where pharmacists can refuse to fill your prescription for birth control if they don’t personally agree with it. That is the law.

And while it’s happening in the legislatures, it is also happening in the courts: In the Dobbs decision overruling Roe v. Wade, Justice Thomas said we should revisit all of the cases that Roe came out of … starting with Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965. And of course, the Griswold case gave married people the right to use birth control. We’re not even talking about single people here, *just* married people.

Rep. Fletcher: To Sen. Cornyn and to others who argued on the House floor two Congresses ago [against the Right to Contraception Act] … they are misrepresenting the state of things. There is no doubt that lawmakers and others are coming after our rights to make these decisions for ourselves and to access birth control of our choosing. … 

We only need three Republicans to get on this bill to have enough votes to pass it. So if it’s not in jeopardy, then they shouldn’t be afraid to say it. They campaigned on protecting IVF … but they have not demonstrated with a single piece of policy or executive action that they’re actually interested in helping women and families. Cutting Medicaid is a great example of where they’re not helping. … 

They’re coming after birth control and our ability to not only plan for our families, but really engage in the economy—to make different choices about going to school or pursuing your career. Being able to control your fertility and being able to plan whether and when to have a family is absolutely essential for women and families across the country, and I have yet to see them do a single thing to support that.

Szal: You’ve been the first woman in many spaces. You became your law firm’s first woman partner in 2015; you’re the first woman to represent your district. What does it mean to you to be the first in these spaces? 

Rep. Fletcher: It’s an incredible privilege and honor, and I think it’s a big part of my job to make sure I’m not the last one. 

Shortly after I made partner, I decided to run for Congress with the full support of my law partners … and just a couple months ago, I saw a young woman partner at my former law firm who had just made partner and talked about all the other women who have made partner since that time. 

I wanted to make sure that, while I may have been the first, I wouldn’t be the last—and the same is true for the 7th Congressional District.

What is disturbing to so many of us right now is that we’re seeing real pushback from this administration. Certainly we have seen it coming directly from the president, and we’re seeing it in his secretaries—whether on diversity and inclusion initiatives, or women’s military service. As we approach Women’s History Month, it will be interesting to see what we hear from this administration.

It’s more important than ever that we assert not only our right to be in the spaces, but that we *are* in those spaces, and that we are in the rooms and at the tables where decisions are being made—because decisions are being made about us and our bodies right now by people who are not advocating for our rights and our interests, and we absolutely need to be everywhere that decisions are being made.

View this article on Ms. Magazine.