Could Birth Control Be Banned During Trump's Second Term? Here's What Experts Say
The 2024 election has raised a lot of questions about the future of reproductive rights in the United States. While abortion is a hot conversation topic, concerns about birth control are also on the table.
Many women are seriously stressed about what’s to come for them in terms of access to birth control. With that, it’s understandable to think about what you can do to feel a little more empowered.
So what is the future like for birth control access in the U.S.? It’s not entirely clear. Here’s what to know so far.
Meet the experts: Julia Strasser, DrPH, MPH, is the director of Jacobs Institute and an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at George Washington University. Jennifer Driver is the senior director of reproductive rights at State Innovation Exchange.
What counts as birth control?
At baseline, birth control is contraception, i.e. a method to prevent pregnancy. While it’s usually synonymous with The Pill, these are the most popular forms of birth control in the U.S.:
The Pill
Intrauterine devices (IUDs)
Tubal ligation
The ring
The shot
The implant
Will birth control be banned after the 2024 election?
President-elect Donald Trump has said that he won’t ban birth control.
But during his previous presidency, he did impose policies that made it harder for people to obtain birth control, especially when it came to insurance coverage.
Still, experts say this is something to keep your eye on.
“There is definitely a chance [of a birth control ban],” says Julia Strasser, DrPH, MPH, the director of Jacobs Institute and an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at George Washington University. “We’re already seeing state-level efforts to restrict access to contraception, specifically IUDs and emergency contraception.”
Jennifer Driver, the senior director of reproductive rights at State Innovation Exchange, says that “nothing is off the table” with birth control access. She notes that when Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a concurring opinion that the Supreme Court “should reconsider” its past rulings codifying rights to contraception access and same-sex marriage.
“That was a signaling of birth control being at risk,” she says. “There have also been attempts at state houses of conflating birth control to the abortion pill or calling birth control ‘abortifacients.’”
Could birth control become harder to get?
Possibly. Some Trump allies have created a blueprint for his second term called Project 2025, which includes a host of proposals around birth control.
That includes requiring health insurance companies to cover natural family planning methods and removing coverage requirements for certain emergency contraceptions.
Couple that with the fact that about 30 percent of U.S. states have abortion bans or strict prohibitions in place, and it’s understandably concerning.
Birth control restrictions may also come in less obvious ways, like allowing a pharmacist not to prescribe birth control because of religious conflicts or allowing Catholic hospitals and medical centers to refuse to dispense birth control on religious grounds, Driver says. “Birth control could become harder to get," she says.
Should I consider long-lasting birth control options, like an IUD?
Research shows that IUD insertions increased after Trump was elected to office in 2016. But Driver says that you shouldn’t panic and do the same.
“We do not want to coerce women in to getting a particular birth control method,” she says. “If LARCs like IUDs are the best method for you, by all means, use that. If pills are better, that’s the way to go.”
Should I stockpile birth control?
“I don’t think stockpiling is the way to go,” Strasser says. This, she says, is for logistical reasons. “Medications expire, and you might have side effects with it,” she says.
Ultimately, Strasser says it’s important to do what you can to make reproductive health choices that feel right for you. “Birth control is an incredibly personal decision that nobody should be forced into making because they’re afraid of what services they will have access to,” she says.
You Might Also Like
