Mike Dunleavy vetoes Alaska birth control measure

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has vetoed a bill expanding access to birth control.

The bill, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in the state legislature, would have required insurance companies to cover up to a year’s supply of birth control at once.

It had been designed to improve access in rural communities where medical resources are scarce.

Dunleavy’s veto stunned policymakers, especially given the legislative backing the bill had received by his fellow Republicans.

HB 17 passed with overwhelming support in a 29-11 vote in the Republican-controlled House and a 16-3 vote in the Senate, led by a bipartisan coalition.

This news arrives on the same day as separate legal development with contrasting consequences, where a Superior Court judge struck down a decades-old law restricting who can perform abortions.

Women in Alaska often have to travel long distances for reproductive care.

Proponents argue that the bill would help ensure access to contraception in Alaska’s more dispersed locales, which are often only accessible by plane or boat.

There are only four Planned Parenthood clinics in the country’s largest state by land area.

The Governor’s office defended the veto, stating that birth control is already “widely available” and that compelling insurance companies to offer a full year’s supply is “bad policy.”

His spokesperson, Jeff Turner, emphasized that the governor believed current access to contraceptives in the state is adequate.

Democratic State Rep. Ashley Carrick, who sponsored the bill, expressed disappointment, calling the veto “deeply disappointing” and saying it continues to leave significant barriers for rural residents.

“There is simply no justifiable reason to veto a bill that would ensure every person in Alaska, no matter where they live, has access to essential medication, like birth control,” she added.

Newsweek has contacted Gov. Dunleavy’s office for comment.

On the same day, Alaska Superior Court Judge Josie Garton struck down a long-standing law that required only doctors licensed by the state medical board to perform abortions.

Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky sued over the law in 2019, saying advanced practice clinicians—which include advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants—should also be allowed to perform medication or aspiration abortions.

Judge Garton found the law unconstitutional, ruling that it violated patients’ rights to privacy and equal protection under Alaska’s state constitution.

Garton noted that the restrictions placed undue burdens on low-income residents and those in isolated areas, who often face significant challenges in accessing abortion services.

In her ruling, Garton emphasized that there was “no medical reason” for abortion to be regulated more strictly than other forms of reproductive health care.

This will serve to expand the pool of health care providers who can perform abortion services in Alaska.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press