FAQs

The vast majority of Americans will use contraception in their lifetime, with 99% of sexually active women using some form of contraception. Moreover, 58% of women who use oral contraceptive pills use them for reasons beyond preventing pregnancy, and 15% use it solely to treat health conditions.

Contraception is health care. Condoms, birth control pills, the ring, the patch, IUDs, and Plan B are common forms of contraception. Contraception is used to prevent pregnancy, and manage endometriosis, perimenopause, acne, premenstrual syndrome(PMS), premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), and other common conditions. More than half of women (58%) using contraception use it to manage a health issue.

Not explicitly. The Supreme Court’s Griswold v. Connecticut decision (1965) ruled that the constitutional right to privacy included married couples getting contraception, and the court extended this right to unmarried couples in Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972). 

But it is not guaranteed that the Supreme Court will uphold these decisions in the future, and there is currently no federal law protecting the right to contraception. That means the right to contraception could be left up to the states.

Hormonal IUDs release hormones that thin the uterine lining while thickening cervical mucus, making it extremely difficult for sperm to reach the egg. Copper IUDs work by using copper ions to prevent sperm from moving and reaching the egg. Both types of IUD prevent fertilization. IUDs cannot cause abortion. 

Plan B works by releasing hormones which delay ovulation (the release of an egg). Plan B should be taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex to be effective. It will not harm an existing pregnancy. 

The Right to Contraception Act is a bill that would codify the right to contraception. It protects the option to use contraception from government interference, but does not mandate that the government provide contraception. In July 2022, the Right to Contraception Act was introduced in the House of Representatives, and 195 members of the House, including more than 90% of Republican lawmakers, voted against it. The Right to Contraception Act was reintroduced in June 2023.

Griswold v. Connecticut was a 1965 Supreme Court case which established the federal right to contraception as an expansion of the right to privacy. Before this, it was illegal in many states to distribute contraception or even information about contraception.

Despite overwhelming public support, the constitutional right to contraception is already being targeted by a range of candidates and policymakers who oppose reproductive health care, and indeed by the Supreme Court itself. For example:

• In July 2022, the Right to Contraception Act was introduced on the floor of the House of Representatives and 195 members of the House, including more than 90% of Republicans, voted against it. The bill protected our right to condoms, IUDs, the pill, patches, emergency contraception, the ring - all of it. 
• U.S. Senators have called into question whether there is a federal constitutional right to contraception. Senator Mike Braun of Indiana believes the issue should be left to the states. Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee has stated that the right to contraception is “constitutionally unsound.”
• U.S. Governors have left the door open to banning contraception. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp was caught on audio saying he was open to banning contraception. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves refused to rule out banning contraception.
• In his concurring opinion of Dobbs, Justice Clarence Thomas voiced support for overturning the constitutional right to contraception – a right established in Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965. Specifically, he wrote that because the legal basis for Roe v. Wade is also the basis for other rights, including the right to contraception, the decision recognizing that right (Griswold) should therefore be “reconsider[ed].”

• In Florida, Gov. DeSantis has repeatedly blocked funding for contraception -- specifically for LARCs (long-acting reversible contraception, or IUDs and the implant) for low-income constituents -- under pressure from the Catholic Church.
• In 2022, Virginia legislators introduced bills that could have banned certain forms of birth control, including IUDs.
• In 2022, Ohio lawmakers introduced a bill that could have effectively banned forms of birth control like hormonal IUDs and emergency contraception/Plan B.
• Also in 2022, Louisiana lawmakers attempted to pass a law that would define life as starting at “fertilization.” Doing so could ban some forms of birth control, including emergency contraception, Plan B, and IUDs.
• In 2021, Idaho lawmakers passed a law that resulted in universities in Idaho telling employees not to tell students how to get emergency contraception, including Plan B, because they could be charged with a felony. 
• Also in 2021, a Missouri state senator nearly succeeded in banning state funding for emergency contraception and IUDs, which could have prevented Medicaid participants from accessing those methods of birth control.
• Texas has banned coverage of abortion services and emergency contraceptives from state-funded family planning programming for over a decade. Separately, in 2022, a Texas judge ruled that Texas teens would need parents’ permission to get birth control at federally funded clinics. 

To learn more about state attacks on contraception, check out this resource from National Women’s Law Center.

Along with the federal Right to Contraception Act that was introduced in the U.S. House and Senate, we are tracking as states move to proactively protect the right to contraception. Visit our states pages to learn more.