Rep. Panetta Votes to Protect the Right to Contraception

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) voted for The Right to Contraception Act, which would guarantee the right to obtain and use birth control as established in Griswold v. Connecticut, including oral contraception, emergency contraception, and IUDs. In his concurrence in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Justice Clarence Thomas contended that the Court should reconsider the due process precedents in Griswold that first recognized the Constitutional right to use contraceptives. Contraception is central to the health and wellbeing of millions of Americans and should be protected as a constitutional guarantee under federal law.

"Last month, the Supreme Court unexpectedly signaled their interest in reconsidering some of the fundamental rights protected by the Griswold and Obergefell decisions," said Rep. Panetta. "That's why the U.S. House of Representatives took swift action today to protect the right to contraception for millions of women across the country. I'm calling on my colleagues in the Senate to follow our lead and pass the Right to Contraception Act so that millions of women can continue to make the ‘intensely personal decision' about when and where to start a family."

The Right to Contraception Act ensures that neither states nor a hostile administration can limit people's access to contraceptives by:

• Establishing a statutory right to obtain contraceptives and to engage in contraception, and for health care providers to provide contraceptives, contraception, and information related to contraception.
• Protecting against any state laws that attempt to restrict access to contraceptives and affirms the Attorney General's enforcement authority to bring civil actions against any state that attempts to do so.
• Establishing a private right of action for individuals to enforce their right to obtain contraceptives and for health care providers to enforce their right to provide contraceptives and information related to contraception.

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