AB-588/SB-589: Statutory Right to Contraception

The bill creates a clear legal right for people to obtain and use FDA-approved contraceptives and for health-care providers to give contraceptives, contraception services, and contraception-related information.

It says governments (state or local) cannot single out contraception or people/providers/facilities that provide it with special limits or extra hurdles that make access harder.

If someone challenges a law as violating this right, the government can only defend that law by proving - with clear and convincing evidence - that the law significantly improves contraception safety and that no less-restrictive option would do the same. The bill also explicitly bars the state and local governments from enforcing rules that would limit the sale, provision, or use of FDA-approved contraceptives, or from restricting people who help others obtain them. Finally, the attorney general or any individual or provider can sue to enforce the new rights.