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Senate passes two bills bolstering access to birth control ahead of second Trump administration, one remains pending
LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Senate passed a group of bills yesterday that would ensure Michiganders can more easily access the contraception they need, including birth control and emergency contraception.
House Bills 5435 and 5436 would expand the types of providers who can prescribe birth control and emergency contraception to include pharmacists. The bills, sponsored by Reps. Stephanie A. Young and Kara Hope respectively, will now be sent to Gov. Whitmer for her signature.
“Thousands of Michiganders rely on birth control and emergency contraception to manage their health, plan their families and pursue their dreams, and this legislation removes barriers so they can more easily access the medication they need,” said Ashlea Phenicie, Chief Advocacy Officer of Planned Parenthood of Michigan and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan. “The Trump Administration has signaled their intent to attack reproductive health care, and Planned Parenthood of Michigan is seeing a surge of patients seeking contraception. We applaud our legislative partners and champions for prioritizing legislation that expands access to reproductive health care, particularly ahead of the threats we expect from a hostile presidential administration.”
Eight out of ten women, or 79.8%, have used birth control pills at some point in their lives, according to the CDC. Two out of ten, or 23.5%, have used emergency contraception, also sometimes referred to as the “morning after pill.”
Michiganders with low incomes, rural residents, and people living in health care deserts face some of the greatest challenges in finding providers who can prescribe contraception. Their local pharmacy might be easier to travel to, and they may be unable to wait weeks or even months to get an appointment with their primary care physician.
The people who already struggle the most to access reproductive health care are the groups that will be most harmed by the Trump Administration’s attacks. The Trump Administration is poised to move quickly to slash federal funding for family planning services — just as they did in 2019 — that thousands of our most vulnerable residents rely on for basic health care.
Still remaining on the Senate’s agenda is House Bill 5013, sponsored by Rep. Julie Rogers, which would require insurers to cover a 12-month supply of birth control rather than limiting people to one- or three-month supplies. When insurers limit how many months’ supply can be picked up at a time, it increases the likelihood that a person might miss their dose. In fact, about 1 in 3 of birth control users say they’ve missed taking their pill — which renders their medication less effective — because they couldn’t access their next prescription.
As of 10:30 a.m. Friday, the Senate remains in session, leaving open the possibility that the remaining bill could pass.
“We urge the Senate to take up House Bill 5013 and do the most good possible in the remaining hours of the majority. Every protection we can put into place before the second Trump administration is vital,” Phenicie said.
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Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan (PPAM) is the advocacy arm of Planned Parenthood of Michigan. PPAM works in conjunction with Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund at the national level, as well as our health center/education affiliate Planned Parenthood of Michigan, supporters, and patients at the state level to ensure access to reproductive health for all Michiganders.
Planned Parenthood offers affordable reproductive health care for all people through medical services, education and advocacy and is the nation’s leading sexual and reproductive health care advocate and provider. Planned Parenthood of Michigan operates health centers across the state, providing medical services and sexuality education for nearly 60,000 Michiganders each year.
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