Right to Contraception Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1232, I call up the bill (H.R. 8373) to protect a person's ability to access contraceptives and to engage in contraception, and to protect a health care provider's ability to provide contraceptives, contraception, and information related to contraception, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

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Mr. PALLONE. 8373, the Right to Contraception Act.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 8373, the Right to Contraception Act introduced by Representative Manning.

When the Supreme Court overruled a woman's constitutional right to abortion last month, it also called into question all the other fundamental freedoms that Americans cherish under the 14th Amendment's right to privacy, including the right to contraception.

In his concurrence, Justice Clarence Thomas went so far to even contend that the Court should reconsider Griswold, the landmark case that first recognized the constitutional right to use contraceptives.

This has opened the door for Republican legislators in States like Idaho, Louisiana, and Mississippi to try to ban certain contraceptive methods. These extreme proposals build on decades of Republican efforts to restrict access to essential reproductive healthcare services. They have tried to gut the Title X Family Planning program, which provides access to contraceptives and family planning services for low-income and uninsured individuals. They have also repeatedly tried to invalidate the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate, which ensures coverage for contraception free of charge.

Contraception is basic preventive healthcare and is crucial to the health and human rights of all people. Millions of people rely on contraception not only to prevent unintended pregnancies but to prevent and treat a wide range of medical conditions. Access to contraception is essential to achieving gender equality as it advances women's health and economic empowerment.

H.R. 8373 ensures that Republicans cannot limit people's access to contraceptives. It also ensures that healthcare providers can provide contraceptives and information about them free from political interference.

Madam Speaker, while the right to contraception is legal today, we must act to ensure this remains true in the future. This legislation does exactly that, by enshrining the right to contraception in Federal law.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Manning), the sponsor of this legislation.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo), the chairwoman of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), the chairwoman of the Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui), a member of our committee.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from California.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor), who is a member of our committee and chairs the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Hampshire (Ms. Kuster), a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Craig), who is the co-lead on this legislation.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, in response to the previous speaker, this bill defines contraceptives as those legally marketed under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Nothing prevents the FDA from removing unsafe products from the market.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Schrier). Dr. Kim Schrier is a member of our committee.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Mrs. Fletcher), who is a member of our committee.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), our majority leader.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to the time that remains on both sides?

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Jacobs) who is a co-lead on this legislation.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, my friends on the other side of the aisle must have amnesia. You know why we are on this floor today? Because of the Dobbs case from a runaway Supreme Court, dominated by Members who answered that they understood precedent in Roe v. Wade and ignored it.

I thank Congresswoman Manning and all of the cosponsors who recognize that we have to methodically protect women. Do you know what is happening to doctors? Every news station will have doctors on, frightened about what they should do about women's healthcare.

This is important legislation, Right to Contraception, because it does deal with menstrual regulation, endometriosis, or hormonal imbalance.

Teenagers are given this because of menstrual problems, but those who don't understand this, they are standing on the floor talking about this is a runaway bill.

If it is coronavirus, the monkey pox, or any other health matter, it is Democrats who are saving America. This legislation is definitely needed because the Supreme Court has trampled on the Constitution, trampled on the Ninth Amendment, trampled on equal protection under the law.

I support H.R. 8373. The women who are in need, who are vulnerable, who are individuals, who are minority women need this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to rise in strong support of H.R. 8373, the ``Right to Contraception Act.''

H.R. 8373 would expressly assert the right of an individual to obtain and utilize contraception.

This would include any FDA approved device or medication used to prevent pregnancy, whether specifically used for that goal, or for other health needs like menstrual regulation, endometriosis, or hormonal imbalance.

Additionally, the ``Right to Contraception Act'' would outline the rights of healthcare providers to prescribe and dispense contraceptives and relevant information to patients.

This bill would require lawmakers who attempt to place additional requirements on providers or access to contraception to prove that the requirement significantly advances access to contraceptives and that access could not be better achieved by other methods.

Birth control pills, IUDs, and other forms of contraception are all forms of safe and essential healthcare.

They are central to women's ability to participate equally in the workplace, in academia, and in society.

The right to contraceptives has long been an expectation held by the American people.

In 1965, the United States Supreme Court's decision in Griswald v. Connecticut affirmed a married couple's right to birth control. In 1972, Eisenstadt v. Baird protected that right for single people. Then in 1977, the right to contraception for minors was secured in Carey v. Population Services International.

For more than 50 years, the right to contraception has been settled law.

That is, until the Supreme Court's recent ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, when five conservative Justices chose to let their personal opinions and beliefs supersede decades of established precedent by overturning women's right to abortion.

Since then, the American people have witnessed the abhorrent consequences of Republicans' radical agenda to criminalize women's reproductive health decisions.

In his concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas made it very clear that the extremist ruling that ended Roe v. Wade could be used to chop away at other rights--including the right to access contraception.

Reproductive rights opponents are now including emergency contraception, IUDs, and other forms of birth control in their anti- abortion legislation.

These anti-abortion laws shackle women to unwanted pregnancies.

Conservative lawmakers now seek to stop women from exerting agency over the prevention of pregnancy, as well.

If a woman is not permitted to end a pregnancy, and she is not permitted to prevent a pregnancy, I ask you, what rights to her body does she have left?

The ability to make personal choices about one's own body is the most basic of fundamental human rights.

That right is engraved into the very foundation of our Nation and inked into the hallowed lines of the U.S. Constitution.

Do we not uphold our Constitution for its promise of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness?

How then, can we withhold those rights from half of our population by robbing women of agency over their bodies?

In 1965, the United States Supreme Court made the 7-2 Griswold v. Connecticut ruling that established the right for married couples to utilize contraception.

This decision was not determined by the personal belief systems of those Justices nor their approval or disapproval of contraception.

No, the right to access contraception was upheld by the promise of unenumerated rights and due process for all American people--as outlined in the United States Bill of Rights.

As my colleagues know, the 9th Amendment states that the federal government does not retain final authority over the rights that are not listed in the Constitution.

The Bill of Rights does not exhaust all the rights retained by the people.

Instead, those undocumented rights belong to the people, as does the right to contraception.

Also, as a hallmark of democracy, the 14th Amendment ensures that no right afforded to the American people can be taken away without due process of law, while also guaranteeing all Americans that they shall have equal protection under the law.

The assurances of the 14th Amendment became part of our national governing documents as a protection against those who would use their power to wipe away the freedoms of others without restraint or consent of the governed.

Unfortunately, it is just as necessary and relevant today as it was when it was ratified in 1868.

Even before the barbaric Dobbs ruling, conservative lawmakers across the country have been moving to limit women's ability to make decisions about their own healthcare and bodies.

In 2021 alone, at least 4 states attempted to ban access to some or all contraceptives by restricting public funding for these products and services.

Those laws work in conjunction with actions conservative legislators in red states have taken to curtail funding for family planning services at reproductive health centers like Planned Parenthood.

Such actions would limit access to birth control, particularly for Black and Brown low-income women.

A 2010 study found that access to contraceptive care resulted in approximately one million fewer unplanned conceptions per year.

That is one million fewer children born into families who are unprepared to support them.

When access to contraceptives is limited, more children are born into lives of difficulty and hardship.

After Texas Republicans excluded Planned Parenthood from its public family planning program for low-income women, there was a 35 percent drop in prescriptions for long-acting, reversible contraceptives and a 31 percent drop in the use of injectable contraceptives.

This caused a more than 25 percent increase in unintended births-- largely among Black and Brown low-income women.

H.R. 8373, the ``Right to Contraception Act,'' would help ensure that children are born into families who are eager, equipped, and prepared for their arrival.

We cannot allow human rights to be so callously stripped away from the American people.

We must fight back and codify these rights into law.

Contraception allows individuals, couples, and families to be in control of their own futures.

Contraception can allow a young woman to achieve her dreams of earning a college degree.

It can allow a young couple to prioritize their careers before raising a child.

It can allow parents to focus their financial and emotional resources on the care of a special needs son or daughter.

It is a tool that allows those who wish to become parents, and those who do not, the agency to make the decision that is best for them.

The Right to Contraception Act asserts that we will no longer allow the human rights of women to be infringed.

If conservative legislators and conservative Justices intend to continue to attempt to limit access to reproductive rights, we will fight back.

We will not allow women to be regulated like reproductive chattel.

American women deserve to have the final authority over their own bodies and their own lives, including whether or not to become pregnant and become a parent.

Contraception is on the front lines of this battle.

That is why I support H.R. 8373, the ``Right to Contraception Act'', and encourage my colleagues to do so as well.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), the co-chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute now to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Clark), our Assistant Speaker.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, may I ask, again, about the time remaining?

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette), the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel), co-chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus.

Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida. Madam Speaker, my, my. Mark my words. The Supreme Court's decision to dismantle abortion was just the start of extreme unnecessary intrusion of our personal lives by Republicans.

Next on their list? Limit the right to buy and use the birth control that give women the ability to plan their families.

Listen to this: This is not imaginary. This is happening right now. Madam Speaker, I was in the room during committee debate when Republicans tried to go back to the horse-and-buggy days of birth control.

On birth control counseling, condoms only, they said, say no to even the mention of medically approved contraception like implants and IUDs. Really? That is crazy, and that is why we need to pass this bill right now, the Right to Contraception Act.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Speaker of the House.

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Mr. PALLONE. Will the gentlewoman yield?

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, they weren't suggesting that there was a legislative hearing, just that the Energy and Commerce Committee worked to get this bill drafted with Ms. Manning and her staff.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu).

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams.)

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Mrs. Trahan), a member of our committee.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I ask you one more time how much time remains on each side.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney).

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, there is no democracy if women do not have control over their own bodies, including reproductive healthcare.

Twenty-seven days ago, an extremist majority on the Supreme Court fulfilled the Republican Party's decades-old goal of overturning Roe v. Wade. Next on the chopping block is marriage equality and contraception.

Make no mistake, these rightwing extremists are not pro-life but pro- government controlling the bodies of women and girls. Their goal is to ban abortion in this country.

Today, the House will pass Congresswoman Manning's Right to Contraception Act, which would codify the right to access birth control into Federal law. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass this bill immediately so that people have the freedom to make their own decisions about their futures.

We will not go back. Pass this bill. It is fundamental to democracy.

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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I have heard many unfounded claims from the Republicans today, claims that this bill would prevent the FDA from acting to remove unsafe products or somehow direct funding for abortion.

This bill simply provides a right to contraception. Republicans are trying to distract from their poor record on women's health. The half-measures that Republicans are purporting to bring forward today do not establish a right to contraception, nor do they ensure that hostile State legislators can't take away birth control in the future.

Only the Right to Contraception Act ensures that. That is why I support this legislation, and I hope my colleagues will, as well.

Madam Speaker, I urge everyone to vote ``yes'' on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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