State Constitutional and Statutory Rights to Contraception

October 15, 2026

This fact sheet was written by Kimya Forouzan. It was edited by Ian Lague.

As threats and misinformation around contraception continue to grow, states have increasingly considered ways to establish a right to contraception. Right to contraception laws serve as a bulwark against future attacks on contraception access.

States have established the right to contraception through both state statutes and state constitutional protections. While both types of protections serve as important safeguards, statutory protections can more easily be repealed than constitutional protections. Many states explicitly name contraception; others protect reproductive freedom or autonomy more generally.

Additionally, some states do not have traditional right-to-contraception laws but do affirm the right to contraception in other sections of their state’s code.

Highlights

21 states and Washington, DC have established the right to contraception.
17 states and DC have established the right to contraception through statutory protection.
7 states have established the right to contraception through constitutional protection.
3 states have established the right to contraception through both statutory and constitutional protections.

Current Policy Status Table

State Constitutional and Statutory Rights to Contraception
Jurisdiction	Right to contraception by state statute	Right to contraception by state constitution
California	X	X
Colorado	X
District of Columbia	X
Florida	X^*
Illinois	X
Maryland		X^‡
Massachusetts	X^†
Michigan		X
Minnesota	X
Missouri		X
Nevada	X
New Jersey	X
New Mexico	X
New York	X	X^‡
Ohio		X
Oregon	X
Pennsylvania	X^*
Rhode Island	X
Tennessee	X
Vermont	X	X^‡
Virginia	X
Washington	X
TOTAL	18	7

*Florida does not have a traditional right-to-contraception law, but it does have a provision within its Comprehensive Family Planning Act stating that “no medical agency or institution of this state or unit of local government shall interfere with the right of any patient or physician to use medically acceptable contraceptive procedures, supplies, or information or to restrict the physician‒patient relationship.” Pennsylvania also does not have a traditional right-to-contraception law, but it does have a provision within its Abortion Control Act, which otherwise restricts access to reproductive health care, stating: “The Commonwealth shall not interfere with the use of medically appropriate methods of contraception or the manner in which medically appropriate methods of contraception are provided.”

^†Massachusetts affirms the right of health care providers to provide contraceptive care.

^‡Pertains to reproductive freedom or autonomy generally.

Suggested citation: Guttmacher Institute, State constitutional and statutory rights to contraception, State Laws and Policies (as of October 2026), 2026, https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/state-constitutional-and-statutory-rights-contraception. Acknowledgments: Pace Knowles-Donnelly conducted background research for this resource.