Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has faced opposition from Republican leaders in the state Senate and House over her efforts to pass “The Right to Contraception Act,” which aims to protect access to contraception in the state.
The legislation would ensure that Arizonans can obtain and use all forms of birth control, and it would guarantee doctors the right to provide information and prescribe contraception to patients.
However, Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli (R-Lake Havasu City) has indicated his opposition to the bill, suggesting that women wouldn’t need contraception if they refrained from having se*x.
Borrelli’s comments are reminiscent of those made by Foster Freiss, a former GOP mega-donor, who suggested in 2012 that women could use aspirin as a form of contraception by placing it between their knees.
Despite Republican control of both chambers of the Arizona Legislature, Borrelli has stated that there are no plans to ban contraceptives. However, the refusal to advance the “Right to Contraception Act” has raised concerns about the availability of birth control in the state.
On the federal level, Republican senators blocked a bill introduced by Democratic Senators Edward Markey, Patty Murray, and Tammy Duckworth in 2022 that aimed to protect the right to contraception. The bill passed the then-Democrat-controlled House of Representatives with limited Republican support.
The opposition to contraception access comes amid broader debates over reproductive rights and the overturning of federal abortion protections in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health case. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has suggested reconsidering the 1965 Griswold v.
Connecticut ruling, which upheld the right for married couples to use contraceptives without government restriction, along with other rulings related to same-se*x marriage and privacy in same-se*x relationships.