As Republicans in Washington Block Protections, GOP Gov. Candidates Threaten Access to Contraception
As Republicans in Washington Block Protections, GOP Gov. Candidates Threaten Access to Contraception
As Republicans in the United States Senate block legislation to codify the right to contraception, GOP candidates in governor’s races across the country have extreme records and plans that threaten access to contraception and abortion medication in their states.
Just last month, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed a bill that criminalizes the possession of abortion medications such as mifepristone without a prescription, while Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed a bill that would have codified the right to contraception.
“Republicans at all levels of government have proven that they want to go further and further to undermine reproductive freedom – and their next target is access to contraception and abortion medication,” said DGA National Press Secretary Devon Cruz. “From now through November, GOP candidates for governor will be forced to answer for their extreme plans to jeopardize access to birth control.”
Here are some key examples of how GOP candidates for governor threaten access to contraception in their states:
- North Carolina: Mark Robinson has repeatedly promised to ban abortion “for any reason,” including rape or incest, and recently traveled out-of-state to speak at an event sponsored by an “anti-birth control group” that has called “FDA’s approval of a birth control drug… ‘evil.’”
- New Hampshire: Both Kelly Ayotte and Chuck Morse have spent years working to make birth control more expensive and harder to access. In the U.S. Senate, Kelly Ayotte voted to allow employers and insurers to deny women birth control coverage, while Chuck Morse voted in the New Hampshire Senate to allow pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions for contraceptives. Both have voted to defund Planned Parenthood, committed to defunding the organization as governor and to make it harder for Granite Staters to access birth control. As Ayotte continues to face scrutiny for rewriting her record of attacking reproductive freedom, she announced a campaign event with Gov. Youngkin just days after he vetoed legislation protecting the right to contraception.
- Washington: While in Congress, Dave Reichert voted repeatedly to defund Planned Parenthood and supported allowing employers and health insurers to deny women birth control for personal reasons. He also recently spoke at a town hall hosted by an extreme anti-choice group who have advocated for “end[ing] abortion once and for all,” where he proposed “‘unraveling’ certain state laws” to undermine reproductive freedom in the state.
- Montana: As governor, Greg Gianforte has signed bills that allow insurance companies to deny women access to abortion or birth control.
- Indiana: In the U.S. Senate, Mike Braun refused to show up for the voteto codify the right to contraception, knowing his opposition is harmful and deeply unpopular. In 2018, Braun ran on his support of allowing businesses to decline insurance coverage for their employee’s birth control for religious reasons.
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