The 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health naturally led to fears that access to contraception would be the far right’s next target. Given the GOP’s history, it’s not a concern without merit.
A Long-Standing Opposition to Contraception
According to Dana Singiser, cofounder of Contraceptive Access Initiative, the GOP has a “long history” of targeting contraception. Singiser also said that it’s becoming increasingly challenging for Republicans to conceal their “long-standing opposition” to it.
Griswold v. Connecticut
In his concurring opinion on Dobbs, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said that the court should revisit the 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut case, which gave spouses the right to use contraceptives without government interference. “If that’s not a direct threat, I don’t know what is,” Singiser said.
Democrats, Abortion, and Contraception
Democrats have fiercely campaigned on ensuring access to abortion and contraception in recent years. President Biden even took to social media to accuse MAGA Republicans of “trying to stop women in America from getting safe and effective medication that has been approved by the FDA for over 20 years.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene
Biden’s post caused quite a stir, and GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was particularly annoyed. “MAGA Republicans are trying to stop women from getting contraceptives? Nope. Old man Joe needs to stop lying to women that the only way to avoid unplanned pregnancy is to take an abortion pill or have an abortion,” she wrote back.
The Right to Contraception Act
Despite her claim, Republican Party members often vote against measures designed to protect access to contraception. In 2022, Greene — along with 194 fellow Republicans — opposed the Right to Contraception Act.
As Simple as It Gets
Rachel Fey of the nonprofit Power to Decide said the bill was “as simple as it gets” and that “it’s really hard to say that you support contraception” without supporting the measure.
An Abortion Trojan Horse
Despite Fey’s claim, the Republicans who opposed the bill gave various reasons for their lack of support. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers called the measure “a Trojan horse for more abortions.” She also claimed that it was “spreading fear and misinformation to score political points.”
Chemical Abortion Pills
Arizona Representative Debbie Lesko also used some very strong words, claiming that the bill would allow for “the widespread use of chemical abortion pills.”
Protection From Congress
Representative Matt Gaetz took to social media to share his view on the matter. “Contraception likely needs protection FROM Congress more than it needs protection BY Congress. If there is any entity you don’t want involved in your contraception choices — it’s the federal gov,” he wrote.
Planned Parenthood and Partisan Disputes
Partisan fights over access to contraception are nothing new, and they definitely didn’t start with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Disputes over Planned Parenthood have been ongoing for decades, and Congress has introduced bills aimed at cutting funding to organizations that offer abortion services, posing a further risk to access to contraception.
The Disproportionate Effects
Fey said that the effects of threatening public funding for contraceptive care fall “disproportionately on women of color, on people who live in rural areas, and people who are struggling to make ends meet.”
The Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act
Republicans also heavily opposed the Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act, a proposal designed to improve access to contraception for female veterans. Despite their resistance, the bill was eventually approved — but over 180 Republicans voted against it.
The Plan B Pill
On the House floor, Representative Matt Rosendale made the inaccurate statement that drugs such as Plan B and Ella are not contraceptives but rather “abortifacients.” Similarly, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene falsely claimed that the Plan B pill “kills a baby in the womb once a woman is already pregnant.”
Purposely Pushing Misinformation
Fey suggested that Republicans “purposely” push misinformation about contraception “in order to have a more expansive set of restrictions on reproductive health.”
Abortion vs. Contraception
She said: “Policymakers who want to go after contraception have found that an expedient way to do that is to link it to abortion by claiming that methods of contraception are actually methods of abortion.”
Fertilization vs. Implantation
According to The Independent, some parts of federal and state laws claim that “pregnancy begins at fertilization rather than implantation” — wording that poses a threat to widely used contraceptives such as IUDs. It also has the potential to end IVF.
An FDA Memo
The misinformation regarding emergency contraceptives got so bad in December 2022 that it prompted the FDA to issue a memo explicitly stating that Plan B “does not terminate a pregnancy.”
Contraception and the Public
Far from all Republicans are against contraception, but there’s a clear stance against it in the party. Regardless, it’s very popular among the public, and a 2022 Gallup poll found that 92% of Americans consider birth control “morally acceptable.”
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