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Committee Hears Bill to Define and Protect Contraceptive Health Care Rights
Summary
Representative Carla Rose Hansen introduced House Bill 1478, which would add a statutory definition of contraceptives and bar state and local governments from restricting access to contraceptive health care, and doctors and medical groups testified in favor.
Representative Carla Rose Hansen, sponsor of House Bill 1478, told the House Human Services Committee the bill would add a statutory definition of contraceptives and prohibit state and local governments from restricting access to contraceptive health care.
"Let's keep the government out of your doctor's office," Representative Carla Rose Hansen said as she asked the panel for a "due pass" recommendation. The bill would also allow the attorney general or an adversely affected person to bring a civil suit to enforce the rights the bill creates.
The bill outlines definitions and expressly excludes drugs the bill lists as used to end an established pregnancy; Hansen said the distinction is intended to separate contraceptives from medicines used to terminate pregnancy. Hansen distributed a version with two small amendments related to Medicaid and asked the committee to adopt those clarifications.
Dr. Anna Tobias, a maternal-fetal medicine physician and chair of the North Dakota section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, testified in support. "Contraception in all forms is an essential part of health care," Dr. Tobias said, and described medical uses of contraception beyond pregnancy prevention, including treatment or mitigation of endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, heavy bleeding and other conditions. She told the committee that no contraceptives on the market terminate a pregnancy after implantation and urged statutory clarity so law reflects medical realities.
Courtney Kobal, executive director of the North Dakota Medical Association, also testified in support and said the association endorses policies that protect broad access to contraceptive services. Seth O'Neil of the North Dakota Domestic and Sexual Violence Coalition told the committee that victims of domestic violence need contraceptive access to avoid unplanned pregnancies.
Committee members asked whether North Dakota already recognizes other medical-treatment rights in statute and whether listing specific drugs in code could risk future problems if medical guidance changes. Hansen and witnesses said they would consult legislative counsel and medical records and that the bill as drafted intends technical clarity rather than to create new criminal penalties.
No opposition testimony was offered; the committee closed the hearing on HB1478 with Representative Hansen asking the committee for a due-pass recommendation.
