A year after Dobbs, advocates push in the United States for a right to birth control

After Justice Clarence Thomas cast doubt on Supreme Court ruling that established a right to birth control, reproductive rights advocates press on for new state-level protections.< /p>
A year after Justice Clarence Thomas ruled the Supreme Court should reconsider whether the Constitution grants Americans a right to birth control, Democrats and reproductive rights advocates are laying the groundwork for state-by-state battles for access to contraception - an issue they hope to turn against Republicans in 2024.
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The justice argument in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the case that overturned Roe v. Wade and the right to abortion, galvanized the reproductive rights movement. House Democrats, joined by eight Republicans, quickly passed legislation that would have created a national right to birth control. Republicans blocked a companion bill in the Senate.
Now reproductive rights advocates are making their case in the states. Even before Dobbs, some states had taken steps to protect the right to contraception, either by statute or constitutional amendment; 13 states and the District of Columbia currently have such protections, according to KFF, a health policy research organization.
This month, the move seemed on poised to win in Nevada, where the Democratic-controlled legislature passed a bill, backed by a handful of Republicans, that would have guaranteed a right to birth control. But on Friday, Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, quietly vetoed the measure. Proponents of codifying such a right viewed Nevada as a test case.
"It will be up to Republicans to choose whether they want to protect the right to contraception "said the senator. Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts and sponsor of the failed Senate bill, said in an interview ahead of the governor's veto. Mr. Markey ca...

Health Jun 21, 2023 0 37 Add to Reading List

A year after Dobbs, advocates push in the United States for a right to birth control

After Justice Clarence Thomas cast doubt on Supreme Court ruling that established a right to birth control, reproductive rights advocates press on for new state-level protections.< /p>

A year after Justice Clarence Thomas ruled the Supreme Court should reconsider whether the Constitution grants Americans a right to birth control, Democrats and reproductive rights advocates are laying the groundwork for state-by-state battles for access to contraception - an issue they hope to turn against Republicans in 2024.

Listen to this article

For more audio journalism and storytelling, download New York Times Audio, a new iOS app available to subscribers to the news.

The justice argument in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the case that overturned Roe v. Wade and the right to abortion, galvanized the reproductive rights movement. House Democrats, joined by eight Republicans, quickly passed legislation that would have created a national right to birth control. Republicans blocked a companion bill in the Senate.

Now reproductive rights advocates are making their case in the states. Even before Dobbs, some states had taken steps to protect the right to contraception, either by statute or constitutional amendment; 13 states and the District of Columbia currently have such protections, according to KFF, a health policy research organization.

This month, the move seemed on poised to win in Nevada, where the Democratic-controlled legislature passed a bill, backed by a handful of Republicans, that would have guaranteed a right to birth control. But on Friday, Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, quietly vetoed the measure. Proponents of codifying such a right viewed Nevada as a test case.

"It will be up to Republicans to choose whether they want to protect the right to contraception "said the senator. Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts and sponsor of the failed Senate bill, said in an interview ahead of the governor's veto. Mr. Markey ca...