What’s at Stake This Election: Access to Abortion and Birth Control Throughout the U.S.

Today, 22 million women — and counting —  live in states where access to abortion is blocked, which also affects millions of other people who can become pregnant. They are forced to weigh the overwhelming costs to travel out of state for abortion care, including  transportation, childcare, lodging, and  food — or remain pregnant. Politicians' decades-long strategy to  weaken voter power continues to quash our freedom and chip away at our democracy — targeting the political agency of Black, Indigenous, Latino and other communities of color, as well as  LGBTQ+ folks, young people, and others. Voter suppression measures rob the voices of the country's increasingly diverse and progressive voting-age population — allowing politicians to undercut our rights. 

And reproductive rights politicians are focused on more than blocking abortion access. In addition to planning to pass a national abortion ban, they are proposing measures to end vital civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ people and block access to birth control. 

Before you head to the polls, here are some things to consider. Look out for additional key information in a follow-up post.

Protect Abortion Rights Throughout the U.S.

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in June to end our constitutionally protected abortion rights has stripped legal abortion access in 18 states. By next year, half or more of states may enforce total or near-total abortion bans.

We can — and must — stop this dangerous trajectory. The Biden-Harris administration has used its executive authority to protect access to abortion, where possible, but there is much more to be done. With majorities in the next Congress, reproductive-rights champions can pass the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) — critical legislation that remains blocked for now by anti-abortion senators. 

By enacting WHPA, Congress would:

• Establish a statutory right to provide and receive abortion care across the nation;

• Help guard against state abortion bans and restrictions

• Protect providers and patients who want to seek and provide abortions without government interference. 

With your help, Congress can act to make abortion more accessible nationwide.

Guarantee Access to Birth Control

Lawmakers who oppose reproductive health and rights have not only banned abortion in many states, but have targeted funding for birth control as well — including emergency contraception (such as Plan B) and IUDs. 

The Biden-Harris administration has already worked to safeguard our access to birth control — reversing the Trump-era domestic gag rule, which forced Planned Parenthood from the only federal program dedicated to providing affordable birth control and reproductive health care to people with low incomes, and pressing Congress to undo the harm of the domestic gag rule by funding Title X at historic levels. 

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended federal constitutional protection of abortion, the administration took more steps — affirming that private insurers must cover all FDA-approved methods of birth control at no out-of-pocket cost to consumers, that pharmacies must fill prescriptions for birth control or medication that could be used to end a pregnancy, that federal programs (Medicaid, Medicare, private marketplace) will continue to cover reproductive health care (e.g. birth control, STI screenings, miscarriage management) for all enrollees.

But the administration alone cannot remove barriers to contraceptive access. To guarantee everyone can access all forms of safe and effective birth control, Congress must act. 

An expanded majority in Congress of reproductive rights champions can advance policies that will protect patients from having their access to reproductive health care denied by a doctor or pharmacist on religious or moral grounds. Equally important, the new Congress can make historic investments in the Title X program — helping to ensure that trusted providers like Planned Parenthood health centers can meet the needs of the communities they proudly serve.

In Part II, we’ll lay out what your vote can mean for the rights of LGBTQ+ communities, for maternal health, and for the right to vote.