Comment: The article reports on efforts by Sen. Ron Wyden to get information from the federal EPA on a recent recommendation that groundwater and wastewater be tested for levels birth control pill and abortion medications. Sen. Wyden asserts that the move by the EPA is laying the groundwork for federal restrictions on reproductive health care under the guise of "drinking water safety."
Category: Health Care
The Trump Administration Is Coming After Birth Control Access in a Terrifying New Way
Comment: In this OpEd in The New York Times (paywalled) the author decries the new administration guidelines on the Title X family planning and reproductive health care program. She details provisions that turn Title X from a highly successful program that reduced unwanted pregnancies (and correspondingly prevented millions of abortions), to a Project 2025-based program for increasing birthrates at any cost.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signs Right to Contraception Act
Comment: The Right to Contraception Act establishes a legal right under Virginia state law to obtain reproductive health care, including contraceptive medication and devices. Similar legislation is pending in other states, including North Carolina, and in the U.S. Congress.
Scrolling into danger — the birth control myths flooding TikTok
Comment: Author Simone Paget reports on birth control misinformation spreading on social media, and concerns expressed by medical professionals that patients, especially young people, are "stopping effective methods without a plan, avoiding appointments, or making decisions based on fear rather than accurate information."
Birth control pills to be available without prescription in Georgia pharmacies
Comment: Bipartisan legislation allowing pharmacists to dispense hormonal birth control pills without a physician prescription overwhelmingly passed the Georgia Legislature and now awaits action by Governor Brian Kemp. If signed into law, the legislation will make it easier for women to obtain birth control pills in the 82 out of 159 counties in Georgia that do not have ob-gyn services.
Trump’s First Surgeon General Tries to Torpedo New Pick
Comment: The nomination of Casey Means, a currently unlicensed medical doctor, for the position of Surgeon General of the United States, is stalled as "even Republican legislators" questioned her qualifications. The article reports on the comments of Dr. Jerome Adams, the Surgeon General in the first Trump administration, concerning Means' qualifications. Among other things, Means has questioned the widespread use of hormonal birth control, stating that it show "disrespect for life."
Birth Control is Essential Healthcare, but It’s Now Under Attack
Comment: The author relates her personal need for hormonal birth control to treat a common fertility and health issue, and comments on the misleading conservative effort, including Project 2025, to frame restrictions on contraception as a concern for women's health.
Is America Turning on Birth Control?
Comment: The author argues that current susceptibility to misinformation about birth control has historical roots in medical paternalism that has not served the interest of informed medical decision making. Translation: Medical professionals need to be more proactive in warning about common side effects.