Planned Parenthood Response to University of Idaho’s Ban on Birth Control
For Immediate Release: Sept. 26, 2022
The University of Idaho has announced it will no longer provide birth control services. The university cited legal concerns and threat of felony charges for providers under Idaho state laws following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Planned Parenthood immediately condemned the university’s new policy.
Statement from Rebecca Gibron, CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai’i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky:
“We always knew extremists wouldn’t stop at banning abortion; they’d target birth control next. The University of Idaho’s announcement is the canary in the coal mine, an early sign of the larger, coordinated effort to attack birth control access. Across the country, we are seeing lawmakers and extremists saying the quiet part out loud, by eroding contraception access and even calling on the Supreme Court to overturn the constitutional right to birth control.
“Here in Idaho, these attacks have already begun. Earlier this year, Idaho lawmakers said they’d consider banning IUDs and emergency contraception in the 2023 legislative session. And the same day that lawmakers voted to ban abortion, they also rejected a bill that would have made it easier for people in Idaho to access birth control.
“These attacks on birth control are not theoretical. They are already happening. And the University of Idaho’s new policy is just the latest example of extremists and draconian laws threatening to strip us of all control over their reproductive health care.”