Rep. Lee, Colleagues File Discharge Petition to Force Vote on Right to Contraception Act
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) released the following statement after filing a discharge petition for the Right to Contraception Act—a bill to protect access to contraception in federal law. The petition was led by Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), Congresswoman Kathy Manning (D-NC), and Congresswoman Lois Frankel (D-FL). Representatives Lee and DeGette serve as Co-Chairs of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus.
"As Co-Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus, I am proud to fight alongside my House colleagues to guarantee the right to all FDA-approved contraceptives. Every person should have the right to make informed decisions about their reproductive health and to plan their family without coercion or interference by the government, doctors, or anyone else. But we know the GOP has been chipping away at that right at every chance they get. Extremists took us back half a century with the Dobbs decision, and now millions of people have lost their right to an abortion.
“Now we risk the exact same thing once more with access to contraception. The right to contraception is not only constitutional—it is fundamental. Fundamental for health, bodily autonomy, and dignity for people across the United States and around the world. Although birth control will never replace the need for abortion access, it is critical health care. Across the country, the attacks on birth control rights and access have already begun. Those attacks are causing the most harm to those who already face barriers accessing contraception, especially people of color. Today, we are standing up and standing with the people to demand Speaker Johnson to let us vote on the Right to Contraception Act - to once and for all protect the right to access birth control in law."