Anti-Abortion Leaders are Coming for Birth Control
By Erin Matson, Co-Founder, President and CEO of Reproaction
On this anniversary of the Roe decision that for fifty years recognized a federal constitutional right to abortion, I remember how so many were surprised when Dobbs overturned Roe. As a close observer of anti-abortion leaders and their political enablers, I was not at all surprised.
And I don’t want anyone to be blindsided the next time. So, it’s fitting on this Roe anniversary of the right to abortion that was taken away from us — in spite of that former right’s popularity and mainstream support — to note that they’re coming for birth control and they’re coming quick. No matter how popular it is.
If you’re worried about your access to contraception, don’t let anyone tell you you’re being hysterical. It’s only been two days since the Trump administration took power, and already they have written so-called “fetal personhood” language into a hateful executive order seeking to exclude trans people from public life. So-called “fetal personhood” defies the science of pregnancy and would outlaw many forms of birth control as well as fertility treatment. Practically from day one, this administration is coming for birth control and is looking for anywhere and everywhere to insert that agenda.
They are not alone. They are doing this with the support of anti-abortion leaders and groups who have long had it out for contraception.
At my organization, Reproaction, which focuses on increasing access to abortion and advancing reproductive justice, we’ve seen a clear consensus from anti-abortion leaders and groups: they are coming for our birth control.
Anti-abortion groups have long attempted to conflate birth control and emergency contraception with medication abortion. The people in power who at least act like they are beholden to them have been listening. Many anti-abortion groups are well-funded and have close connections to state and federal lawmakers. For example, national anti-abortion organizations Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and National Right to Life maintain scorecards for legislators and several current members of Congress boast of their scores on their websites. To give a sense of the power of these organizations, collectively their 501(c)4 arms — the organs primarily set-up to influence legislators at national and state levels — spent more than $25 million in 2022, which is the most recent year for which complete tax returns are available.
It’s no surprise, then, that since 2022, legislation to protect birth control has failed in 17 states. Not only are lawmakers failing to protect access to contraception — despite the fact that more than 90 percent of voters think birth control should be legal — some states are actively working to limit access. In one example, last year six states introduced bills that would explicitly restrict young people’s access to birth control, in spite of the fact that contraception is safe and effective for people of all ages.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of anti-abortion lobby organization Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said that “to lose the connection between sex and having children leads to problems.” In fact, sex is a fact of life and not a shameful one. Further in fact, forcing people to carry pregnancies to term using the blunt force attack of abortion bans dreamed up by callous anti-abortion leaders and groups leads to dire outcomes for many, including higher rates of unpaid debt, evictions, and bankruptcies, and even deaths. What’s more, reporting from The Guardian reveals that following the election, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America “would work to lay the groundwork for ‘fetal personhood,’ a legal doctrine that would grant embryos and fetuses full legal rights and protections” and thus harm access to birth control and IVF while also banning abortion.
Other national anti-abortion organizations agree, and are eager to attack contraception alongside abortion access. Students for Life of America explicitly characterizes all forms of hormonal birth control such as pills and IUDs as “abortifacients,” a breathtaking piece of disinformation seemingly cherry-picked from the sky. Students for Life president Kristen Hawkins has said that in her “ideal world” all forms of hormonal birth control would be illegal. This year, Students for Life is lobbying for a “Life at Conception Act” that makes so-called fetal personhood the law of the land which, you guessed it, targets birth control and fertility treatment along with abortion. Live Action founder and president Lila Rose has echoed the lie that birth control causes abortions. She has also repeatedly falsely claimed that contraception is dangerous to women’s mental and physical health and future fertility.
Other anti-abortion leaders and groups shift tack as they seek to end access to contraception, in this case wrapping themselves in the veneer of religion. Care Net is a national network of anti-abortion pregnancy centers that seeks to intercept and convert what they refer to as “abortion-minded women.” Roland C. Warren is the president and CEO of this group, and he decrees that “we must uphold God’s design and principles for sex and marriage.” Longtime anti-abortion leader and defrocked Catholic priest Frank Pavone has called contraception “unbiblical.”
These leaders use their personal and misogynistic interpretations of Christianity to overrule bodily autonomy. They do this in spite of data from the Guttmacher Institute showing 99 percent of women, including 99 percent of both Catholic and Protestant women, have used contraception at some point in their lives.
For many anti-abortion leaders and groups, the goal is to return to the world that existed before birth control became widely available, where women were expected to bear children and stay home to raise them. In a survey examining public opinion on abortion, Perry Undum found that seven in ten anti-abortion respondents felt resentment toward shifting gender roles.
Public figures opposed to abortion and birth control are fanning the flames of this resentment. At conservative organization Turning Point USA Young Women’s Leadership Summit in 2023, speakers discouraged female attendees — most of whom were in high school and college — from pursuing high-powered careers. Alex Clark, who hosts a Turning Point podcast, railed against what she called the “four lies of modern feminism,” including birth control and day care.
Despite all this, anti-abortion positions including the opposition to birth control are as unpopular as ever. Recently, Americans for Contraception and Impact Research conducted a survey that found that a staggering 88 percent of respondents believe it’s important for Americans to be able to make their own decisions about contraception.
Further, 81 percent of people who responded to the survey supported the Right to Contraception Act; this included people on both sides of the aisle.
I have closely observed anti-abortion leaders and groups for years. For 50 years they pursued a dedicated strategy to stack the courts and overturn Roe v. Wade. They stood ready to make their move the moment they had the right Supreme Court and the right abortion ban to prod them toward overturning Roe. Then they followed through. The Dobbs decision was devastating, but not remotely shocking.
We can’t let history repeat itself. Anti-abortion leaders and groups are telling us they want to get rid of birth control. The Trump administration is already on the move. Let’s believe their statements and their actions, and fight back.
