They Came for Abortion — Now They're Coming for Birth Control
With Planned Parenthood clinics closing, Title X funding eliminated, and personhood legislation threatening IUDs, birth control access is under attack. Here's what donors need to know.
For years, advocates warned that the assault on abortion rights wouldn't stop at abortion. In 2025 and 2026, those warnings are proving prescient. Birth control — used by the vast majority of reproductive-age Americans — is now in the crosshairs.
Planned Parenthood's defunding created a contraception crisis
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed on July 4, 2025, cut Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood. The consequences were swift and severe. Fifty-one Planned Parenthood clinics closed in the first months, with up to 200 more at risk. Over 1.1 million patients who relied on Planned Parenthood for healthcare were displaced.
Here's what many people don't realize: only 3% of Planned Parenthood's services were abortion-related. The overwhelming majority of patients visited for birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing, and preventive care. When you close a Planned Parenthood clinic, you're not just eliminating abortion access — you're eliminating the primary healthcare provider for hundreds of thousands of people.
The Title X family planning program, which funded reproductive healthcare for low-income patients, saw its budget zeroed out. Eleven states committed emergency funding to fill the gap, totaling approximately $200 million, but the shortfall runs into the hundreds of millions.
The patients displaced by these closures need care. Many have turned to independent clinics, community health centers, and organizations like CE Repro Fund for help affording contraception.
Personhood legislation threatens IUDs and emergency contraception
In multiple states, legislators have introduced personhood bills that would define legal personhood as beginning at fertilization. While these bills are primarily aimed at restricting abortion, their implications for birth control are significant.
IUDs and emergency contraception work primarily by preventing fertilization, but opponents argue they could theoretically prevent implantation of a fertilized egg. Under a strict personhood framework, this could be classified as an abortifacient — making your IUD legally equivalent to an abortion.
Tennessee has already enacted conscience refusal laws allowing healthcare providers and pharmacists to refuse to provide contraception based on personal beliefs. This creates a practical barrier even where contraception remains technically legal.
The math of birth control access
Four in five Americans support access to contraception. The Affordable Care Act required most insurance plans to cover FDA-approved contraceptive methods without cost-sharing. But for the uninsured, underinsured, or those whose providers refuse to prescribe — birth control can be prohibitively expensive.
An IUD or implant — the most effective long-acting methods — costs $500 to $1,300 without insurance, though it provides 3 to 12 years of protection. Monthly pills, patches, or rings cost $20 to $50 per month. Over a year, out-of-pocket birth control costs range from $200 to over $1,000.
For someone working a minimum-wage job, those numbers are often out of reach. That's where CE Repro Fund comes in.
CE Repro Fund fills the gap
As one of the few nonprofits that provides direct financial assistance for birth control alongside abortion care and transgender healthcare, CE Repro Fund is positioned to help patients navigating this new reality.
When a patient can't afford an IUD after their Planned Parenthood clinic closed, we help fund that IUD. When someone's pharmacy refuses to fill their prescription, we help them find a provider who will and cover the cost. When a young person without insurance needs reliable contraception, we're there.
Birth control is not a luxury. It is essential healthcare that allows people to plan their families, pursue education and careers, and make decisions about their own futures. CE Repro Fund will always treat it that way.
How you can help protect birth control access
Donate to fund contraception. Your donation to CE Repro Fund directly funds birth control for patients who can't afford it. $25 covers a month of pills. $200 provides a year of contraception. $500 can fund an IUD that protects a patient for up to 12 years.
Talk about it. The battle over birth control relies partly on public silence. When people learn that contraception access is under threat, they overwhelmingly support protecting it. Share this article. Start conversations.
Support organizations on the front lines. CE Repro Fund, local family planning clinics, and the organizations listed on our resources page are working every day to ensure that birth control remains accessible regardless of the political climate.
The fight for reproductive healthcare has always been bigger than abortion. Stand with us to protect every person's right to decide if, when, and how to build their family.