Dear John,

The Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade may have left you with questions and uncertainty about access to contraception. Which makes sense. This is a chaotic time, and the landscape of reproductive health care is changing daily. We’re here to answer as many questions as we can about your options and the future of birth control:

• You still have a constitutional right to birth control: But birth control access is already under attack by the same people attacking abortion. In the Dobbs decision, a certain justice laid out an argument for overturning Griswold v. Connecticut, the 1965 Supreme Court case that recognized the constitutional right to birth control. Anti-reproductive health policymakers are now purposely conflating birth control and abortion, increasing barriers to birth control access, and challenging the constitutional right to birth control.
• Access to birth control is essential: Access to birth control does not solve the problems created by overturning Roe. It can, however, help some people prevent pregnancy and avoid the increasing hurdles to accessing abortion care. In this moment, it is critical to ensure access to all reproductive health care—because everyone deserves the freedom to decide when or whether they want to grow a family.
• How to choose a birth control: There are a lot of options! It can be helpful to have a conversation with your health care provider about what you want from your birth control, such as effectiveness at preventing pregnancy and/or STIs, how often you use them, and costs.
• How to get the method you want: There are lots of ways to access the birth control method of your choice: online retailers, family planning clinics, pharmacies, and health care providers. Online retailers offer a wide range of birth control options that can be mailed to you. Family planning clinics offer services at low or no cost depending on your financial circumstances. In 17 states and D.C., some pharmacists can write birth control prescriptions. Health care providers such as a doctor, nurse, or midwife, can talk to you about methods and prescribe your contraception.
• How to afford birth control: When it comes to birth control, most insurance plans cover contraception without out-of-pocket costs, thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). That means you shouldn’t have to pay anything when you pick up your pills at the pharmacy, or when you have your IUD inserted by a provider. If you find that your method of choice or related service is not covered the way it should be, you are not alone, and we can help with our CoverHer hotline!

While contraception will never be the solution to losing abortion access, the right to birth control is fundamental to reproductive freedom. We know how important it is to find—and use—the method that is right for us. Because everyone should have access to the birth control they need, when they need it, without barriers.

In solidarity,

Lauren Wallace
she/her/hers
Counsel, Reproductive Rights and Health

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