1. United States
2. La.
3. Letter

I am writing to you as your constituent and as someone whose health and autonomy depend on access to contraception. I urge you to take all possible action to protect the constitutional and statutory protections for birth control from rollback, particularly in light of recent signals from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas that contraception rights could be reconsidered. I live with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), a condition for which hormonal birth control is a medically accepted and often essential treatment. Without safe, consistent, and affordable access to contraceptives, I face not only the disruption of my reproductive autonomy but also serious health consequences, including irregular or absent cycles, excessive bleeding, pain, infertility risks, and other metabolic complications. The possibility that contraception protections could be weakened threatens not only abstract rights but my daily medical wellbeing. In his 2022 concurrence to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, Justice Clarence Thomas explicitly called for the Supreme Court to reconsider Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), which established the right of married couples to obtain contraception, and Eisenstadt v. Baird (1972), which extended that right to unmarried individuals. This would endanger not only reproductive freedom but also access to essential medical care for millions of women like me who rely on contraception for conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome and endometriosis. Access to contraception is vital not only for individual health but also for economic stability. According to research from the Guttmacher Institute, the availability of reliable birth control has been directly linked to increased educational attainment, higher labor force participation, and improved lifetime earnings among women. The World Health Organization likewise reports that contraceptive access enhances women’s health, empowerment, and socioeconomic outcomes. When women can control the timing and number of their pregnancies, they are better able to pursue education, careers, and financial independence—benefits that strengthen families and communities alike. Weakening contraception protections would disproportionately harm low-income women, women of color, and those in medically underserved areas, further widening existing inequalities. It would also undermine the right to privacy and bodily autonomy that underpins so many other freedoms. I urge you to support legislation that explicitly protects the right to contraception in federal law and to oppose any judicial or legislative actions that threaten it. Protecting access to birth control is not only a matter of personal freedom but of public health, economic justice, and human dignity.