Democrats in Ohio’s U.S. congressional delegation want to see contraception rights codified into federal law, now the third attempt on Capitol Hill.
U.S. Reps. Joyce Beatty, Emilia Sykes and Greg Landsman met in a press conference call Tuesday to discuss the measure and request a vote from a majority of Republicans.
“It is our job as lawmakers to uphold the will of the people we serve and codify the right to access contraceptives for everyone, regardless of their zip code, governor or legislature,” Sykes said.
The proposed “Contraceptive Right Act” was originally created in response to comments expressed regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade and the national legalization of abortion.
“We are concerned because we know post-Dobbs, voters are concerned about their right to contraceptives and the threat of the Supreme Court invalidating the constitutional right to contraception,” Beatty said.
In supporting the ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas mentioned another case: Griswold v. Connecticut, which in 1964 repealed a 19th century law banning contraception, especially for married couples. In that case, the high court said couples have a right to privacy, which stops states from banning contraception in marriage.
But Thomas took advantage his agreement in the Dobbs case consider retrialing cases like Griswold. He wondered whether, after overturning “demonstrably flawed decisions” like Roe v. Wade, “the question will remain whether other constitutional provisions guarantee the myriad rights that generated our substantive due process cases.”
In response to these comments, members of the United States House of Representatives introduced a bill to codify access to birth control and that was it was successful in that chamber, which was still under Democratic control in 2022but it did not fare well in the US Senate, where it was blocked by Republican Senator Joni Ernst.
In the House, all but two Ohio Republican representatives voted against the bill, and Republican Bob Gibbs attended the session but did not vote for or against it. Then-Republican Anthony Gonzalez was the only Republican to vote yes from Ohio.
Another bill establishing statutory contraceptive protections at the federal level was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2023 but never went further.
Now Ohio’s congressional Democrats are buoyed by the success of state Issue 1, in which 57% of voters approved reproductive rights protections in Ohio’s constitution last November.
“It’s up to us to not only reintroduce this legislation, but also … push very, very hard to get it done and make it the law of the land,” Landsman said.
Discussion of this legislation is especially appropriate after Mother’s Day weekend and at a time when Republicans are trying to “mandate motherhood,” Sykes says.
“Being a mother is one of the hardest and most thankless jobs in the world, and there is simply no better way to honor our mothers or those who want to become mothers by protecting their freedom to choose whether or not to expand their family,” she said.
Beatty said sponsors are just starting the process of introducing the bill, and while they don’t have any members of the Republican Party signed on yet, they have a “large margin on the House side” as well as the support of a Democratic U.S. senator from Ohio. Sherrod Brown, who pushed the Senate version of the bill.
Eight Republicans voted for the 2022 version of the contraception bill, and Beatty said sponsors plan to start with those GOP members in a bid to speed up work on the bill.
Currently, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson of Louisiana, voted against the bill in 2022
Three Ohio representatives said the issue should not be viewed partisanly because contraceptive operate affects all Americans. They also said the question of whether they have Republican support is something that should be answered by representatives of that party.
“This is a question better asked of our colleagues who have chosen not to sign, and why they won’t stand with us and help protect these very basic rights of all our voters,” Sykes said.
