PA lawmakers are considering a bill to make birth control free—meanwhile, Republicans in Congress have blocked an act to protect access to contraceptives nationally.
Pennsylvania Democrats welcomed a rather large ally to Philadelphia recently in their push for contraceptive rights: a 20-foot inflatable IUD named Freeda.
“Freeda” stopped in Philadelphia as part of a nationwide “IUD Express Tour” with the organization Americans for Contraception. The campaign is designed to educate and engage the public on the importance of protecting the right to contraception.
“The Dobbs decision reinforced the fact that our reproductive rights are not safe in this country,” said state Sen. Amanda Cappelletti (D-Montgomery), who attended an IUD Express Tour event. “We’ve seen legislatures across the nation go after the full spectrum of reproductive health care and safe, effective methods of birth control must be protected. Doctors and health care providers–not politicians–are the ones who need to help patients determine their health care.”
Democratic lawmakers are working to protect contraception in Pennsylvania. Just last month, House Bill 1140, introduced by Rep. Leanne Krueger (D-Delaware), was passed by a vote of 133-69. The bill requires private and government health insurance companies to cover birth control costs without deductibles or copays. The bill now heads to the Senate.
Nationally, though, Republicans are working against contraception, blocking the passage of the Right to Contraception Act just last month. Despite strong public support for passing the Act—which would have protected the right to contraceptives on a federal level—from eight in 10 voters, nearly every Republican senator voted against it.
“Reproductive health care is health care,” said state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia). “And health care is a human right. Opponents of reproductive freedom want to take away your right to choose and eliminate access to contraception. We have judges who are trying to make laws from the bench. And if a politician or a judge can take away your decision of when and if to have a family, then every other aspect of the right to privacy is completely undermined.”
Check out images from Freeda’s cross-country tour here. To find out who will be on your ballot this Nov. 5, click here. To learn which Pennsylvania Congressional candidates have been endorsed by Planned Parenthood, click here.
