President Biden Issues Executive Order on Strengthening Access to Contraception

Today, President Biden issued an Executive Order (EO) on Strengthening Access to Affordable, High-Quality Contraception and Family Planning Services. This EO directs a range of agencies to strengthen access to contraception under the Affordable Care Act, through Medicaid and Medicare, for Service members and veterans, and through a wide range of other Federal programs. This marks the third EO on reproductive health care access that the President has signed since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and the first focused specifically on protecting and expanding access to contraception.

President Biden and Vice President Harris believe that contraception is an essential component of reproductive health care, which  has only become more important in the wake of Dobbs and the ensuing crisis for women’s health. The Biden-Harris Administration will continue fighting to protect access to reproductive health care, and calling on Congress to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade.

See coverage below:


Reuters: Biden to sign executive order expanding access to contraception
The order will increase ways for women to access contraception and lower out-of-pocket costs, a Biden adviser said.
[Steve Holland, 6/23/23]

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday will sign an executive order designed to protect and expand access to contraception, after a Supreme Court ruling last year overturning the constitutional right to abortion raised fears that birth control could also face restrictions. Biden senior adviser Jen Klein told reporters that the order will increase ways for women to access contraception and lower out-of-pocket costs. Klein said the order directs federal departments to consider requiring private insurers to offer expanded contraception options under the Affordable Care Act such as by covering more than one product and streamlining the process for obtaining care.


Bloomberg: Biden Puts HHS on Line for Contraceptive Access Year After Dobbs
[Ian Lopez, 6/23/23]

Ensuring access to contraceptives as some states enact state reproductive rights bans will be a major focus of the Health and Human Services Department under a Biden administration executive order announced Friday. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra will be tasked with considering guidance for private health insurers to fully cover contraceptives without additional costs for consumers, weighing options for Medicaid to broaden the reach of low-cost family planning services, and taking other actions under the new Biden administration order. It’s the third executive order on access to reproductive health services the Biden administration has issued since the Supreme Court’s June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.


CNBC: Biden to sign executive order expanding access to birth control
[Annika Kim Constantino, 6/23/23]

President Joe Biden on Friday will sign a wide-ranging executive order aimed at protecting and increasing access to contraception, his administration’s latest attempt to shore up reproductive rights as abortion restrictions rise in many states. The White House announced the order one day shy of the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which established the constitutional right to abortion in the U.S. in 1973.

Axios: Biden to sign executive order to expand free birth control access
[Oriana González, 6/23/23]

President Biden on Friday will sign an executive order aimed at expanding free access to contraception on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling. The big picture: This is Biden’s third reproductive health-related executive order since Roe v. Wade was overturned last June and the first not to address abortion access. […] State of play: The order directs the Treasury, Labor and Health and Health and Human Services departments to consider new guidance to ensure that private health insurers cover all contraceptives approved by the Food and Drug Administration without cost-sharing.

HuffPost: Ahead Of Dobbs Anniversary, Biden Admin Announces New Order Expanding Contraceptive Access
The order directs federal agencies to look into ways they can support birth control access. 
[Lilli Petersen, 6/23/23]

President Joe Biden’s administration announced a new executive order intended to expand access to contraception on Friday, one day before the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that eliminated the national right to abortion. The new executive order will direct agencies to increase access to contraception through a range of programs and services, including under the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Title X family planning services. “This executive order underscores the president and vice president’s continued commitment to protecting access to the full spectrum of reproductive health care,” Jen Klein, the director of the White House’s Gender Policy Council, told reporters on a call Thursday afternoon. “While contraception cannot replace the need for abortion services or fill the gap left by the loss of a constitutional right, the right to choose, it’s an important part of helping ensure that women can make decisions about their own health, lives and families.”


U.S. News: Biden to Broaden Contraception Access to Mark One Year Since Roe’s Demise
His executive order follows other actions expanding abortion access, even as GOP states severely restricted the right since the high court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade a year ago.
[Susan Milligan, 6/23/23]

Warning that contraception is the next target for anti-abortion lawmakers, President Joe Biden will sign an executive order Friday directing federal agencies to develop a wide array of rules meant to ensure broader access and lower cost for birth control. The order asks agencies to use existing law to carve out added protections for people and institutions in the federal system, such as veterans, service members, federal employees and those getting funds under Title X. It also asks agencies to develop “best practices” and guidance to expand access to contraception for students and people in private insurance plans.


Forbes: Biden Boosts Birth Control Access In Executive Order One Year After Roe Was Overturned
[Robert Hart, 6/23/23]

President Joe Biden will sign an executive order bolstering access to contraception on Friday, the White House announced, part of a push to protect reproductive rights a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade as abortion restrictions grow and Republican lawmakers set their sights on limiting birth control. […] The executive order, released Friday morning, directed federal agencies to develop policies that will lower the costs of birth control, as well as safeguarding and boosting access to it. Private health insurance firms could be made to cover the cost of contraceptives and streamline the process for obtaining care, under new guidance being considered by the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, the Treasury and the Labor Department. Agencies will also be directed to consider how to boost access to affordable over-the-counter contraception, including emergency contraception, which the White House said could include convening pharmacies, employers and insurers to discuss the issue. Biden’s order will also urge agencies to shore up birth control access for people in the federal healthcare system, including veterans, federal employees and their families.


The Hill: Biden to sign executive order to expand birth control access
[Nathan Weixel, 6/23/23]

President Biden will sign an executive order Friday to increase access to contraception and family planning. […] Since the Dobbs decision a year ago, Biden has issued two other executive orders related to abortion. One order is intended to assist women who need to travel out of state to receive abortions and ensure health providers comply with federal law, so women aren’t delayed in getting emergency care. Another order Biden signed shortly after Dobbs was aimed at safeguarding access to abortion care and contraceptives and protecting patient privacy. Combined, the three orders “lay out a clear roadmap for federal agencies to bolster access to the full spectrum of health care,” Klein said. “But we’ve been quite clear that contraception is not a substitute for abortion care.”