ICYMI: Op-Ed by CHC Chair Barragán: Protecting Access to Contraceptives Mobilizes Voters
In an op-ed published by El Diario on May 20, 2024, Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chair Nanette Barragán (CA-44) highlighted the urgent need for Congress to pass the Right to Contraception Act, especially given the disproportionate impact of reproductive health restrictions on marginalized communities.
Read the full article below or online at El Diario.
If one thing became clear after the repeal of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court, and with it, the constitutional right to abortion, it is that the head-on attack on reproductive rights wants to go further to undermine the right to contraception. That's the bad news.
But the good news is that reproductive rights and protecting access to contraceptives are at the center of the 2024 Presidential race, and are important issues for voters regardless of party affiliation. In addition, this issue mobilizes voters to the polls and determines which candidates and parties those voters’ support. This includes Latino voters.
With the ruling against Roe in June 2022, Justice Clarence Thomas urged the high court to "reconsider" the right to contraception. In July 2022, the Right to Contraception Act was introduced in Congress to provide protections at the federal level given the multiple attacks at the state level to restrict access to abortions.
A total of 195 Republican Congressmen voted against the bill, including current House Speaker Mike Johnson. In 2023, the same measure was reintroduced by four Democratic lawmakers led by Massachusetts Senator, Edward Markey.
The 2023 press release summarizes what's at stake: "Although nine out of ten U.S. adults support access to all forms of birth control, several states restrict access to contraception by eliminating public funding for it, defining abortion in a broad enough manner to include contraceptives, and allowing health providers to decline services related to contraceptives based on their religious beliefs. Attacks on health care, especially reproductive health, are most severe in Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Immigrant communities, as well as for LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, low-income people, and those living in rural and underserved areas."
A recent Impact Research poll for the organization Americans for Contraception found that support for the bill is broad among all ethnic groups, with 79% of Hispanics, 83% of African Americans, 81% of whites, and 79% of AAPIs supporting it. It is supported by voters of all ages, as well as women (84%) and men (78%).
The support cuts across party lines: 94% of Democrats, 76% of Independents and 68% of Republicans support it. 53% of voters said they are more likely to vote for their Congress Member if they support the measure, while 58% affirmed that they are less likely to vote for them if they oppose it.
For 57%, it’s important to prevent politicians from banning abortion and contraception.
For Latinas, protecting these rights is vital.
According to the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, "97% of Latinas who have ever had sex have used contraception." "Latinas continue to face barriers to consistently access affordable and available contraceptives and, as a consequence, experience unintended pregnancies at twice the rate of their white peers," according to the organization.
If, on top of the cultural and socioeconomic factors, we add the attacks on the right to contraceptives at the state level, the situation becomes more complicated if Donald J. Trump returns to the White House in January 2025. Trump imposed restrictions on clinics that provide contraceptives under Title X, which also contemplates testing for sexually transmitted diseases and prenatal care for people with limited economic resources. President Joe Biden reversed these restrictions.
But the conservative Heritage Foundation’s 2025 Project, which outlines Trump's plans if he is re-elected, contemplates resuming these restrictions.
Eleven states have introduced their own versions of the federal bill, but some have been blocked by Republican leaders in those states.
For all these reasons, it is imperative that Congress pass the Right to Contraception Act. The Far Right with its narrative that risks women's lives, cannot silence the majority of the country that supports this right.
###