Virginia Democrats approve contraceptive rights bill
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Virginia Democrats successfully passed a bill through the House of Delegates protecting contraceptive rights despite Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s continued efforts not to safeguard them.
Del. Marcia S. Price, D-Newport News, introduced HB 1716, which focuses on reproductive health and contraception access. Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, proposed a similar bill, SB 1105, that successfully passed the Senate Committee on Education and Health and is awaiting a vote in the full Senate.
Specifically, the measures aim to enhance the accessibility and affordability of contraceptive methods across Virginia. The bill states that a person’s right to access contraceptives will not be restricted by any law, regulation, or policy.
“The language of the bill includes various types of FDA approved medicines and devices so that people can access them to prevent pregnancy and also help treat other issues like endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome,” Price said.
Some Republicans raised their concerns about the bill in regards to age limits and provider discretion.
“There are no boundaries to age with this legislation. It doesn’t specify age limits which really undermines parental authority and minors can access contraceptives without parental consent,” Del. M. Keith Hodges, R-Middlesex, said. “This really allows patients to demand specific contraceptives. The physician has to comply.”
Price responded to Hodges saying the bill had “nothing to do with providers.”
“This is saying no state or locality shall take action to impede upon access,” Price said. “A pharmacist is not a state or locality.”
Price also clarifies that the bill doesn’t affect minors’ decision to get contraception.
“This bill does not change anything about the current legal framework that is already in place where minors have the ability to make certain reproductive healthcare decisions without consent,” she said. “This does not touch that.”
Last May, Youngkin vetoed the Right to Contraception Act, a bill that passed 21-19 in the Senate and 53-43 in the House of Delegates. The bill aimed to protect the right to access contraception and ensure doctors could prescribe methods such as birth control pills, IUDs, emergency contraception and condoms.
