In the wake of Dobbs, the Democratic-controlled House is passing a flurry of bills to "codify" constitutional rights that are not really in jeopardy. Yesterday, I wrote about the Respect For Marriage Act, which would require a state to recognize same-sex marriages performed in another state. This bill passed with more than forty votes from Republicans. Today, the House passed The Right to Contraception Act. Here, only eight Republicans crossed over. Let's walk through the bill.
First, the bill creates a statutory right to access contraception and contraceptive. These terms are defined quote broadly:
(1) CONTRACEPTION.—The term ''contraception'' means an action taken to prevent pregnancy, including the use of contraceptives or fertility-awareness based methods, and sterilization procedures.
(2) CONTRACEPTIVE.—The term ''contraceptive'' means any device or medication used to prevent pregnancy, whether specifically used to prevent pregnancy or for other health needs, including all contraceptive products approved, cleared, or granted de novo classification by the Food and Drug Administration, such as oral contraceptives, long-acting reversible contraceptives, emergency contraceptives, internal and external condoms, injectables, vaginal barrier methods, transdermal patches, and vaginal rings, or other contraceptives.
