Democratic lawmakers called on leaders of the GOP-controlled state Senate to protect access to contraception in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that invalidated abortion rights and may have undermined other personal freedoms.
The state House passed it in July House Bill 1140 sponsored by State Rep. Leanne Krueger (D-Delaware) to protect access to contraception under Pennsylvania law, which currently does not provide such a guarantee. The bill is pending in the state Senate.
At a news conference at the state Capitol on Tuesday, Krueger said that was the position of the U.S. Supreme Court 2022 decision overturning his landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade explained the current threat to reproductive rights across the country.
In a separate concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that he would abolish the substantive due process legal doctrine, which limits government interference with fundamental rights. Thomas went a step further, saying he would overturn the court’s Griswold v. Connecticut decision, which struck down laws restricting access to contraceptives.
“With our current U.S. Supreme Court signaling that contraceptive access is at risk across the country, and extremist politicians introducing bills at the federal level that threaten our reproductive health care, we must take action now in Pennsylvania to protect us rights, said Krueger.
The event was held in partnership with Americans for Contraception, a national advocacy group, which brought a 20-foot-tall inflatable IUD, representing a highly effective type of long-term birth control, called Freeda Womb, which was displayed in the East Wing of the Capitol.
Krueger noted that a significant percentage of people who operate contraceptives in the United States operate them to prevent pregnancy, as well as to treat other conditions such as painful and massive menstrual bleeding and endometriosis, and to reduce the risk of gynecological diseases.
“When we sign the Access to Contraceptives Act, we will put it 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 helped fight legislation that sought to limit or eliminate reproductive rights, but over the past two years Democrats in the House held the majority and passed legislation aimed at protecting and expanding access to contraception.
“We all know that the right to family planning is key to the ability to protect one’s health and manage one’s future,” Frankel said. “It is clear that if these rights were to be protected by common sense, a bill to expand access to contraception would easily become law, but no, despite bipartisan support in the House, House Bill 1140 cannot even receive 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 was approved on June 25 by a 133-69 vote in the House. On July 12, it was referred to the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee and was not put to a vote.
Sen. Maria Collett (D-Montgomery) said birth control is under attack on many fronts, from the Supreme Court’s desire to overturn long-established rulings to conservative attacks on the American Health Care Act, which requires insurers to cover contraception in most cases. .
In Pennsylvania, just before losing control of the state House in the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans in the Legislature tried to appoint referendum on changing the state constitution eliminating abortion and reproductive rights, said Collett, who co-sponsored the bill accompanying Krueger’s proposal with Sen. Amanda Cappelletti (D-Montgomery).
“One thing is clear, Republicans talk about freedom and liberty, but they are doing everything in their power to take away your liberty and freedom. The stakes are still high and we cannot afford to be surprised. We won’t be back,” Collett said.
