Murray has been pushing for increased access to over-the counter contraception since 2015, as the chief author of the Affordability is Access Act
Murray led efforts in Congress urging the administration to propose a rulemaking like today’s
Murray has led efforts in Congress to put Republicans on the record when it comes to support for contraception and has sounded the alarm on far-right efforts to restrict access to contraceptives
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement on the newly proposed Biden-Harris administration rule that would significantly increase coverage of contraception without cost sharing for 52 million women of reproductive age with private health insurance.
“Birth control—and any kind of contraception—is just basic health care, and it should be covered and easy to get. Women in America should not have to jump through hoops to make sure insurance is covering their basic reproductive health care needs. This proposed rule by the Biden-Harris administration would deliver meaningful progress as we work to make health care more affordable and accessible. However, we should not forget that Republicans have consistently sought to undermine access to contraception and far-right extremists have even sought to limit access or even ban basic forms of contraception—this threat to our health care is real and serious. While Republicans continue to attack standard and necessary forms of health care, Democrats will continue to fight to expand access to contraception and lower health care costs for everyone.”
Last year, Murray led a letter urging the Biden-Harris administration to require insurers to fully cover over-the-counter birth control with no out of pocket costs. Murray is the chief author of the bicameral Affordability is Access Act, which she reintroduced again in May of 2023, her legislation would require insurers to fully cover over-the-counter birth control with no out-of-pocket costs or prescription requirement, recognizing the reality that for many people—especially those with the tightest budgets—true access requires affordability. Murray has been pushing for increased access to over-the counter contraception since she first introduced the Affordability is Access Act in 2015. Senator Murray also spearheaded efforts in Congress urging the FDA to move quickly to review Opill’s application after the FDA’s Advisory Committee voted unanimously to recommend FDA approval for Opill.
Senator Murray has also helped lead Congressional efforts to protect the right to contraception. In the aftermath of the Dobbs leak, Senator Murray introduced and sought unanimous consent to pass the Right to Contraception Act to protect every American’s right to use contraception—Republicans blocked the bill in 2022 and 2023. Murray then helped lead efforts in Congress to force a vote on the Right to Contraception Act this past summer.
Murray has also been sounding the alarm on far-right extremists working to restrict access to contraception. In June, while chairing a HELP Committee hearing titled “The Assault on Women’s Freedoms: How Abortion Bans Have Created a Health Care Nightmare Across America,” Senator Murray pressed Republican witness Dr. Christina Francis, CEO of the anti-abortion group American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), on whether women should have access to common forms of birth control. When pressed by Murray, the Republican witness admitted their position is that IUDs are abortifacients—this as AAPLOG is currently working with Republican lawmakers to ban certain forms of contraception by redefining them as abortion. Video of the exchange is HERE. Murray has also outlined the threats to contraception posed by Project 2025.
Murray has fought to expand and protect access to contraception and family planning services her entire Senate career. Senator Murray is widely credited with leading the fight to make Plan B available over the counter in the early 2000s. She pushed to ensure birth control was covered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), held the line against any budget deal that would slash funding for Planned Parenthood in 2011, blocked Republicans’ efforts to undermine access to contraceptive coverage in the ACA in 2012, led the fight against the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling, and has persistently pressed every administration to enforce the ACA’s coverage for contraceptive services since then.
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