Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher Moves To Force Vote To Guarantee the Right to Contraception

Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) filed a discharge petition to force a House floor vote on her bill, the Right to Contraception Act, H.R. 999, to guarantee by law the right to contraception. A discharge petition is a legislative tool in the House of Representatives that allows a majority of members to force a bill to the floor for a vote by the full chamber, even if the Speaker of the House opposes it.

"The Right to Contraception Act reflects the position of the vast majority of Americans who rely on contraception of all kinds to plan their families and their lives," said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher. "Contraception is essential healthcare. But what we are seeing from Republicans across the country and the Trump administration are efforts to restricts access to family planning, violating the autonomy and right to privacy of Americans that the Supreme Court recognized in Griswold v. Connecticut. If Republicans are serious about reflecting the will of the people and protecting contraception, they will join us in signing this discharge petition."

"For 61 years, Americans have relied on the constitutional right to contraception recognized in Griswold v. Connecticut and the broader right to privacy that decision helped establish, said Dr. Dara Kass, MD, Emergency Medicine Physician and Board Member, Americans for Contraception. But after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Justice Thomas called on the Court to 'reconsider' precedents like Griswold, those protections can no longer be taken for granted. Congress must pass the Right to Contraception Act and provide lasting federal protections for the right to contraception, personal privacy, and the freedom to make decisions about our own bodies, families, and futures."

"Contraception is truly a modern miracle and the foundation for people's ambitions, education, the family that they want, and the life they want to live," said Clare Coleman, President & CEO, National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA). "Just days after members on the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee advanced a proposal to eliminate funding for the Title X program, which provides a critical source of contraceptive care for millions of people, I applaud Rep. Fletcher for launching her discharge petition to advance the Right to Contraception Act. Everyone, regardless of income, insurance status, or where they live, should be able to access affordable contraception from providers they trust."

"The Trump administration has made it clear that they will chip away at reproductive rights until they have total control over our bodies, our lives, and our futures," said Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women's Law Center. "Attacks on reproductive health care, including contraception, are clearly laid out in Project 2025, and we have already seen the devastating consequences of these attacks. To protect our bodily autonomy and freedom, Congress must act quickly to stand with the vast majority of Americans who believe contraception is vital health care, not with the extremists who seek to take it away. We commend Representative Fletcher and her colleagues for championing the Right to Contraception Act and urge all members of Congress to support this critical bill."

"As an organization of physician advocates providing care to communities around the country, Physicians for Reproductive Health calls on Congress to listen to the critical health care needs of people who desire to stay safe and healthy as they consider whether or not to grow their families," said Dr. Jamila Perritt OB/GYN in Washington, D.C. and President & CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health. "The Right to Contraception Act aims to protect the basic rights of patients looking to access the contraceptive method that is best for them. Where you live, your income, or your insurance coverage should never dictate whether or not someone can access the care they need, including contraceptive care. Everyone is deserving of access to the information necessary in order to decide what contraception is in alignment with their goals and values, and access to that method without barrier or delay."

"Everyone, everywhere should be able to get the birth control they need, when they need it," said Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Instead of passing bills like the Right to Contraception Act, congressional Republicans continue to push their anti-sexual and reproductive health agenda. Just this week, we saw them attacking access to contraception. With these threats, it is critical for Congress to protect the right to birth control. Thank you to Rep. Fletcher for introducing this bill to ensure patients can get the care they need.

"Contraception is basic health care that millions of people rely on," said Rachel Fey, Interim Co-CEO, Power to Decide. Not surprisingly, it's extremely popular, and the right to obtain contraception and to provide it should not be remotely controversial. And yet it's only getting harder to access as Medicaid restrictions and efforts to defund the Title X Family Planning Program continue, and mis and disinformation proliferate. In this environment, we applaud Rep. Fletcher and congressional champions for this discharge petition and call on all members to support it."

"The Right to Contraception Act is a critical step to ensuring birth control access is accessible to those who need it, without exceptions or barriers," said Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju. "Where you live and how much money you make should not determine whether you can make decisions about your health and future. We thank Rep. Lizzie Fletcher for continuing to take action to protect our reproductive freedom as the Trump administration continues to escalate attacks on our rights every day."

The effort comes as the Trump administration continues to target family planning resources, including recent funding cuts to Title X, the country's only federal program dedicated to providing domestic family planning services for people with low incomes.

The discharge petition coincides with the anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut. This week in 1965, the Supreme Court struck down a state law that banned married couples from using birth control, establishing that Americans have a fundamental right to privacy.

Texas is one of seven states that allows pharmacists to refuse to fill birth control prescriptions based on their personal beliefs. It is also one of 24 states that restricts minors' ability to obtain contraception without parental consent. And after a federal court ruling, Texas is the only state where Title X-funded clinics cannot provide confidential birth control to minors without parental consent.

If enacted, the Right to Contraception Act would:

• Create a federal right for people to obtain contraceptives;
• Establish a right for health care providers to provide contraceptives and information related to contraception;
• Allow the Department of Justice, as well as providers and individuals harmed by restrictions on contraception access made unlawful under the legislation, to go to court to enforce these rights; and
• Protect access to a range of contraceptive methods, devices, and medications used to prevent pregnancy, including but not limited to oral contraceptives, emergency contraceptives, and intrauterine devices (IUDs).

Last year, Congresswoman Fletcher introduced the Right to Contraception Act with Congresswoman Angie Craig (MN-02), Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05), Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (CA-51), and 200 original cosponsors. The bill currently has 206 cosponsors. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. Senate.