Could access to contraception become an issue in the presidential race?
BOSTON - The end of Roe v. Wade led to new laws in more than a dozen states restricting access to abortion. Now some are worried that contraception could be next and one reason is what former President Donald Trump said in an interview with our sister station in Pittsburgh.
Trump walks back saying he's "looking" at birth control restrictions
"We got rid of Roe v. Wade which brought it back to the states," Trump boasted. And when the interviewer asked if he supported any restrictions on a person's right to contraception, Trump replied, "We're looking at that, and I'm going to have a policy on that very shortly."
Within hours, Trump was walking that back, writing on Truth Social that "I have never, and will never, advocate imposing restrictions on birth control." Why?
Polls that find strong bipartisan majorities supporting most forms of contraception, with Republicans only balking at the morning-after abortion pill. No wonder Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pounced, calling for a vote on a Senate bill protecting access to contraception.
That won't be an issue here in Massachusetts, where Gov. Charlie Baker signed a state law guaranteeing free or low-cost access seven years ago.
"I do think this is a public health risk"
But since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a number of states have sought to curb availability of some forms of contraception.
"I do think this is a public health risk," says Dr. Jake Morgan of the Boston University School of Public Health, who adds his work showing a surge in tubal ligations and vasectomies after the court erased federal abortion rights should be a warning to contraception critics. "When you make a decision that limits someone's personal autonomy you have to be really convinced about the outcomes you want to achieve and the reasons that you're doing these things, because there are often unexpected consequences."
Massachusetts isn't the only state with protections in place for birth control access. So how far can this movement to restrict it go?
For now it's mostly a conversation on the far-right, where they want to see an end to recreational sex as part of a return to "traditional values." But they apparently had enough of Trump's ear to prompt him to blurt out his tease about "looking" at restrictions.
So even though he immediately retreated, you can be sure this will be an issue in the presidential race.