Birth control must remain a key component of individual medical freedom | Opinion

Health care looks vastly different than it did before 2020. Mask mandates, vaccine requirements and an explosion in the use of telehealth all changed the way Americans not only access their health care but live their daily lives. Republican lawmakers in Tennessee, like their counterparts across the country, have taken note. As pushback against some mandates, lawmakers in Tennessee have championed a number of bills protecting individual freedom in health care decisions the past few years. With medical freedom top of mind, it’s disappointing that lawmakers recently snubbed contraception, despite Americans’ overwhelming support for it and its well-rounded safety profile.

In February, Tennessee’s Senate Judiciary Committee shot down Senate Bill 0885. The bill — which consisted of one line clarifying that the state abortion ban did not apply to birth control — received a unanimous “no” from Republicans and was met with no discussion. This is a misstep for Tennessee Republicans that has not gone unnoticed.

In the annual Gallup poll of Americans’ beliefs and values, birth control continues to be far and away the most morally acceptable issue — topping divorce, wearing fur, drinking alcohol or premarital sex. This makes sense, as virtually every woman of reproductive age has used some form of birth control at some point in her life. As for hormonal birth control methods, the pill and intrauterine devices (IUDs) are the most popular. Over 16 million women in the United States have reported using these methods recently.

Support for birth control access cuts across political parties. The majority of Republicans support access to birth control pills, IUDs and even emergency contraception like Plan B. Not that long ago, Tennessee Republicans championed birth control access expansion; in 2016, Tennessee became one of the first states to allow pharmacists to write birth control prescriptions. Nearly half the country has since followed, as this model has shown to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions, as well as save state health care systems money.

To be clear, birth control is still legal and available in Tennessee. But if lawmakers think constituents aren’t worried or confused about the status of birth control legality, they are likely wrong. Consumers have stockpiled emergency contraception, made appointments for IUD insertions in case policymakers came after birth control, and some of Tennessee’s neighbors clearly exclude contraception from their abortion laws. If Tennessee ignores this exclusion, it could have consequences around the South.

The best path forward for Republicans is to follow through on their promise to maintain access to birth control and make this abundantly clear in law. Failing to do so contradicts a commitment to medical freedom and will harm Tennesseans, including potentially reversing gains that contraceptive access has helped us achieve. These include higher educational attainment, higher workforce participation and incomes, improved health outcomes for moms and babies, fewer abortions and lower divorce rates.

Birth control is a simple yet effective way for women to plan for their education, their lives and their families. The best way for policymakers to facilitate this is to get out of the way.