Like many women in Bucks County, I’ve spent the last few years watching the news with disbelief. First, extremists came for and are chipping away the right to abortion. Now they’re coming for contraception — something most Americans support and millions depend on for their health and autonomy.
I spent my entire career as a professional registered nurse.
I first worked at the bedside caring for patients and then in my later years, taught a generation of younger nurses.
As a nursing student, before Roe v Wade, I cared for a woman with an overwhelming infection from a back alley abortion. Care for a woman who made a desperate choice for a desperate situation and paid for it with her life.
She came in with her husband. As she lay dying from sepsis, I got to know her husband. He was a hard-working family man. He told me they had seven children, with the youngest still a baby.
When he finally admitted she had a back alley abortion, he said with tears in his eyes that they just couldn’t feed one more child.
She died on day three of her hospitalization.
Why are we going back to these days? I am utterly dismayed over today’s relentless ongoing attack on reproductive rights for women — particularly because these extremists are now looking to target contraception.
They blur the line between contraception and abortion so they can attack both — and Donald Trump has already shown how far that tactic can go.
READ: These Bucks County Lawmakers Voted to Ban Abortion in the PA Constitution
Last year, the Trump administration used that false “abortifacient” claim to justify trying to destroy nearly $10 million in U.S.-funded contraceptives — IUDs, pills, and implants. Belgian authorities refused, the shipments were left to rot, and now 20 of the 24 are in uncontrolled warehouses and likely unusable.
To be clear, contraception prevents a pregnancy; it doesn’t end one. The goal is simple: redefine contraception as “abortion” and go after it the same way. The confusion is deliberate. It’s not about health or science — it’s about control and too often, cruelty is the point.
Contraception isn’t just about preventing pregnancy. It’s vital healthcare that supports women throughout their lives. Hormonal contraceptives can help prevent ovarian cancer and manage conditions like endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). For many women, contraception is what allows them to get up, work, and care for their families. It’s protection they rely on.
Trump’s attacks on health care aren’t limited to oversees — overseas disaster isn’t an outlier — it’s part of a broader push to roll back contraception here at home.Under Trump, federal officialscut off Medicaid reimbursement to Planned Parenthood, leaving low-income patients – including thousands of Pennsylvanians – without contraception or basic preventive care. And, new Medicaid work-requirement rules threaten to push even more families out of coverage, making birth control harder to get and easier to lose.
Here in Pennsylvania, we have a chance to do something about it. This past June, the state House — Democrats and Republicans alike — passed the “Contraceptive Access for All Act,” a bipartisan bill sponsored by Rep. Leanne Krueger. It would require insurance plans and state‑run programs to cover all FDA‑approved contraceptive drugs and devices — including emergency contraception — at no cost to patients. The measure passed by a 116–87 vote, before heading to the Senate.
This is commonsense healthcare. Yet the bill now sits in the state Senate — where Bucks County’s own Senator Frank Farry could be the difference between progress and more political gridlock.
Politicians often claim they listen to their constituents, and Senator Farry is no exception. If that’s true, he should hear this: Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly support protecting access to birth control. Polling shows that 90 percent of the public supports access to contraception, with strong majorities across party lines – contraception isn’t controversial, it’s common sense.
Passing Rep. Krueger’s bill would ensure that, regardless of what happens in Washington, Pennsylvanians can count on affordable access to contraception. It’s an opportunity for the state Senate — and for Senator Farry — to show leadership that rises above partisan politics and affirms a simple principle: healthcare decisions belong to patients, not politicians. A strong vote in the Senate would send a message that Pennsylvania values women’s health, privacy, and economic security.
When contraception is harder to get, families pay the price. Women are forced to miss work, parents struggle with unplanned expenses, and doctors see more preventable medical crises in emergency rooms. Keeping contraception accessible isn’t just about personal freedom; it’s about public health and economic stability. Every dollar invested in contraceptive care saves taxpayers many times more in avoided healthcare costs and lost productivity.
Senator Farry, this one’s easy. Stand up for the women and families you represent. Support the “Contraceptive Access for All Act,” and make sure Pennsylvanians have the freedom to make their own healthcare decisions — no matter who’s in power in Washington.
Contact Senator Farry here.
