Contraception could come under fire next if Roe v Wade is overturned

Following the bombshell release of a draft decision showing a majority of US supreme court justices may overturn Roe v Wade, legal experts believe other laws about individual autonomy may be in danger, including the right to access contraception.

Laws broadly banning abortion may also prohibit certain forms of birth control that opponents incorrectly say are working as abortion-causing medications. And the supreme court decision underpinning the right to access contraception, Griswold v Connecticut, could also come under fire in much the same way as Roe did.

Justice Samuel Alito, in his draft decision, argues that Roe is a faulty law. Roe is based on the 14th amendment, as are decisions like Obergefell v Hodges on same-sex marriage, Loving v Virginia on interracial marriage, and Lawrence v Texas on consensual sex.

Anti-abortion advocates have argued incorrectly that certain birth control methods, such as Plan B and certain intrauterine devices (IUDs), work as abortifacients because they may prevent the implantation of fertilized eggs. But there is no pregnancy without implantation, so these medications cannot terminate pregnancies.

Some states could take these measures further to ban other forms of contraceptives.