U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono, Ed Markey, and Tammy Duckworth have reintroduced the Right to Contraception Act. This legislation aims to establish a statutory right for individuals to obtain and use contraceptives while ensuring that healthcare providers can supply contraceptives and share information about them. Representative Lizzie Fletcher has introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Senator Hirono stated, “Contraception is essential health care that millions of people across the country rely on.” She emphasized that the bill protects both patients’ access to contraception and providers’ rights to offer it. “The right to control your own body, free from government interference, is as fundamental as it gets,” she added.
The Right to Contraception Act passed the House in July 2022 but faced opposition in the Senate where Republicans blocked its passage multiple times, including attempts in June 2023 and June 2024.
The bill has received endorsements from numerous organizations including Power to Decide, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, National Women’s Law Center, Guttmacher Institute, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Besides Senators Hirono, Markey, and Duckworth, the bill is co-sponsored by several other Democratic senators including Tammy Baldwin, Michael Bennet, Richard Blumenthal, Cory Booker, Maria Cantwell, Kirsten Gillibrand, Amy Klobuchar, Patty Murray among others.
Senator Hirono has been a long-time advocate for reproductive rights. Last September she supported the Right to IVF Act aimed at protecting access to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) services which also faced opposition in the Senate. Following this vote failure, Senator Hirono highlighted how IVF treatments have enabled many individuals to start families.
In July 2024, Senator Hirono joined other Democratic senators in releasing a report titled “Two Years Post-Dobbs: The Nationwide Impacts of Abortion Bans” addressing healthcare impacts post-Roe v. Wade overturning. Furthermore, she voted for advancing the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act which ultimately did not pass due to significant Republican opposition.
