Experts focus on accessibility, education on contraception in post-Roe America

The fall of Roe v. Wade over the summer did more than change the landscape on abortion. It also left questions over other Supreme Court precedents and elements of reproductive health care like contraceptives in Republican-controlled states. In the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision, which reversed the constitutional right to an abortion, there was a large increase in demand for contraceptive measures, particularly longer-lasting measures like IUDs and vasectomies. There was also a flood of demand for emergency contraception, commonly known as Plan B, to stock up in case it became restricted by abortion bans. Amid the uncertainty over reproductive health care, contraceptive advocates are seeking ways to make birth control and emergency contraception more accessible, protected and affordable. In a concurring opinion to Dobbs, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the court should reconsider other due process cases. He specifically listed Lawrence v. Texas, which ended bans on gay sex, Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationally, and Griswold v. Connecticut, a 1965 case that allowed married couples to buy and use contraceptives.

While the majority of the court went against Thomas and specifically said the Dobbs decision only applied to Roe, there was still concern over the future of contraception and LGBTQ rights in a conservative Supreme Court. The concern has prompted legislative action from the federal government. President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law early December. The bill requires states and the federal government to recognize marriages legally performed in other states, an important backstop if the Supreme Court does reverse Obergefell. The efforts to increase accessibility of contraception, however, have stalled. The U.S. House passed the Right to Contraception Act with eight Republicans joining House Democrats. The bill would establish a federal right for people to obtain and use contraceptives, and for health care providers to offer contraceptives. Senate Republicans blocked a unanimous consent request to pass the bill. In addition to worries that a conservative Supreme Court will rule against contraception protections, vagueness in some state abortion bans like the trigger law in Texas have called the legality of emergency contraception into question.