Act Now to Help Make Birth Control Available Over-the-Counter and Protect Insurance Coverage

Today Senator Patty Murray introduced a new bill, the Affordability IS Access Act, to make the birth control pill available over the counter and keep it affordable.

Some anti-women’s health politicians have pushed similar bills — as recently as last month. But those came with a big caveat: they fail to guarantee women can get birth control over the counter covered by insurance, which is what keeps birth control accessible and affordable for millions of women. It’s disingenuous and an insult to women.

This bill is different. It would protect the insurance coverage women rely on and that saves them up to $600 per year, while making it easier to get the pill without a prescription. That’s exactly what we’ve been fighting for: greater access to affordable birth control, for everyone.

Over-the-counter access is just ONE piece of the larger effort to make basic preventive health care , like birth control, available to as many women as possible — and it’s especially powerful this week. Sunday, June 7, was the 50th anniversary of the landmark Griswold v. Connecticut Supreme Court decision, which provided the very first constitutional protection for birth control.

But birth control also needs to be affordable in order to be accessible for all. That’s why it’s critical that any bill pushing for over-the-counter birth control pills keeps the insurance coverage we’ve fought so hard to secure  —  now more than 55 million women are able to go to the pharmacy or a doctor's office and get all FDA-approved forms of birth control with no out-of-pocket costs.

Opponents of women’s health will keep doing whatever they can to make it harder for women to access care—but bills like this are one way to fight back. That’s why we need your help today: Ask your senators to stand up for a woman’s right to affordable, accessible birth control by cosponsoring the Affordability IS Access Act.

Tags: Planned Parenthood, Congress, birth control