CONGRESSMAN BENNIE THOMPSON SIGNS DISCHARGE PETITION TO FORCE UNITED STATES HOUSE TO VOTE ON RIGHT TO CONTRACEPTION ACT
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sixty-one years after Griswold v. Connecticut established a constitutional right to contraception and helped lay the foundation for modern privacy rights, Americans for Contraception is urging the Mississippi congressional delegation to sign a discharge petition that would allow a vote on Rep. Lizzie Fletcher’s Right to Contraception Act, legislation designed to protect both the right to contraception and the privacy rights recognized in Griswold. Congressman Bennie Thompson has already signed the petition.
Chris Fleming, spokesperson for Americans for Contraception, said: “We applaud Rep. Bennie Thompson for his leadership in advancing this discharge petition and fighting to ensure the House has an opportunity to vote on protections for the right to contraception. House members who say they support contraception rights should join her effort, sign the petition, and allow a vote on the Right to Contraception Act. Mississippians deserve to know where their elected representatives stand.”
Congressman Thompson’s signature comes the same day that, Rep. Zakiya Summers, sponsor of Mississippi’s “Right to Contraception Act” (HB 1154), Sen. Kamesha Mumford, and Jalyn McElroy of The PUPA Project, and others gathered at the state capital to mark the anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut and raise awareness about ongoing threats to contraception rights and privacy. A video of the full press conference is available here.
Dr. Dara Kass, MD, Emergency Medicine Physician and Board Member, Americans for Contraception, said: “For 61 years, Americans have relied on the constitutional right to contraception recognized in Griswold v. Connecticut and the broader right to privacy that decision helped establish. But after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Justice Thomas called on the Court to ‘reconsider’ precedents like Griswold, those protections can no longer be taken for granted. Congress must pass the Right to Contraception Act and provide lasting federal protections for the right to contraception, personal privacy, and the freedom to make decisions about our own bodies, families, and futures.”
This week, lawmakers, healthcare providers, and advocates will gather at events across the country to mark the 61st anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut, highlight ongoing threats to contraception rights and personal privacy, and call for action to protect those rights and freedoms.
