Democrats Call on Pennsylvania Senate Leaders to Pass Bill to Expand and Protect Access to Contraceptives

State Reps. Morgan Cephas (D-Philadelphia), La’Tasha D. Mayes (D-Allegheny), and Gina H. Curry (D-Delaware) pose in front of a 20-foot-tall inflatable intrauterine device called the “Freeda Womb.” ” by Americans for Contraception. The display was part of an event to draw attention to a bill that would protect access to contraception pending in the state Senate. (Capital-Star photo by Peter Hall)

Democratic lawmakers called on leaders of the GOP-controlled state Senate to protect access to contraception following a Supreme Court decision that struck down abortion rights and could erode other personal freedoms.

The state House approved in July House Bill 1140 sponsored by state Rep. Leanne Krueger (D-Delaware) that would protect access to contraception under Pennsylvania law, which currently has no such guarantee. The bill is pending action in the state Senate.

At a news conference at the state Capitol on Tuesday, Krueger said the U.S. Supreme Court decision 2022 reversing its historic ruling in Roe v. Wade made clear the current threat to reproductive rights across the country.

In a separate concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that he would eliminate the legal doctrine of substantive due process, which limits government interference with fundamental rights. Thomas went a step further and said he would overturn the court’s Griswold v. Connecticut, which repealed laws restricting access to contraceptives.

“With our current U.S. Supreme Court signaling that access to contraceptives is in jeopardy across the country and with extremist politicians introducing bills at the federal level to threaten our reproductive health care, we must take action in Pennsylvania now to protect the rights we have. “Krueger said.

The event was held in cooperation with Americans for Contraception, a national advocacy group that brought a 20-foot-tall inflatable intrauterine device, representing a highly effective type of long-term birth control, called the Freeda Womb, which It was displayed in the east wing of the Capitol. .

Krueger noted that a significant percentage of people who use contraceptives in the United States use them to prevent pregnancy in addition to managing other health conditions such as painful and severe menstrual bleeding, endometriosis, and to reduce the risk of gynecological disorders.

“When we enact the Contraceptive Access Act, we will put a stake in the ground and say, ‘here in Pennsylvania, you and your health care are protected,’” Krueger said.

House Health Committee Chairman Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny) said he had helped fight legislation that sought to restrict or eliminate reproductive rights, but in the past two years, House Democrats had majority and passed a bill to protect and expand access. to contraception.

“We all know that the right to plan your family is the key to your ability to protect your own health and manage your own future,” Frankel said. “Clearly, if these rights were protected by common sense, a bill expanding access to contraceptives would easily become law, but not, despite bipartisan support in the House, House Bill 1140 it can’t even get a committee vote in the Pennsylvania Senate. .”

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Ind.) did not respond to an email seeking comment. House Bill 1140 passed by a bipartisan vote of 133 to 69 in the House on June 25. It was referred to the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee on July 12 and has not been put to a vote.

Sen. Maria Collett (D-Montgomery) said birth control is under attack on multiple fronts, from the Supreme Court’s willingness to overturn well-established rulings to conservative attacks on the American Care Act, which requires companies Health insurance companies cover contraception in most cases. .

In Pennsylvania, just before losing control of the state House in the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans in the legislature attempted to establish a Referendum to change the state Constitution. to eliminate abortion and reproductive rights, said Collett, who along with Sen. Amanda Cappelletti (D-Montgomery) co-sponsored a companion bill to Krueger’s.

“One thing is clear: Republicans talk a lot about freedom and liberty, but they do everything in their power to take away your freedom and liberty. The stakes are still high and we cannot afford to be caught off guard. “We won’t be back,” Collett said.