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Senator Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham, has pre-filed a bill for the 2025 Legislative Session to ensure access to contraception is a right in Alabama.
Senate Bill 19, sponsored by Coleman, “would recognize that individuals have the right to engage in contraception and that health care providers have the right to both dispense contraceptive devices and provide information about their use.”
Under current Alabama law, there are no direct statutes ensuring the rights of Alabama citizens to use and distribute contraceptives.
SB19 defines contraceptive as, “any drug, device, biological product, or method that is intended for use in the prevention of pregnancy, whether specifically intended to prevent pregnancy or for other health needs,” legally marketed by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
SB19 further elaborates that its definition of contraceptives includes, “oral contraceptives, long-acting reversible contraceptives such as intrauterine devices and hormonal contraceptive implants, emergency contraceptives, internal and external condoms, injectables, vaginal barrier methods, transdermal patches, and vaginal rings.”
The bill prohibits any institute of government from enacting any law, rule or policy prohibiting or restricting the sale, provision or use of any contraceptive approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
It also prohibits the implementation of laws, rules or policies which prohibit or restrict a healthcare provider from aiding an individual in obtaining or using and USDA approved contraception.
SB19 would permit the state Attorney General, healthcare providers and individuals to bring civil suits for injunctive relief against any person responsible for the enforcement, implementation or administration of, “any law, rule, or policy that prohibits or interferes with the distribution and use of contraceptives.”
The bill also lays out appropriate defenses for parties accused of restricting access to contraceptive care.
These include, if the law, rule or policy significantly increases the safety of contraceptives, information surrounding them or the health of users, “in a way that cannot be advanced by an alternative measure or action that is less restrictive,” or if the law, rule or policy is also applied to “other medically similar drugs, devices, biological products, or methods.”
SB19 is modeled after last legislative session’s House Bill 279, which also sought to make access to contraception a right in the state, but failed to make it out of the House.
If passed, SB19 will go into effect Oct. 1, 2025.
