Governor Terry McAuliffe signed Delegate Eileen Filler-Corn’s (D-Springfield) bill, HB 2267, at the Stambaugh Human Services Center on Monday.
HB 2267 will require health insurance plans that cover contraceptives to allow women to purchase a year’s supply of birth control pills at one time. The law is considered to be the first proactive reproductive health legislation passed in Virginia in a decade.
“Access to safe, reliable birth control will benefit many throughout the Commonwealth,” said Del. Eileen Filler-Corn of Virginia’s 41st District. “My bill will empower women to better plan their lives, careers and families. I am proud that this commonsense measure passed with broad bipartisan support. This is a major victory for Virginia women.”
A study by the University of California’s Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health found that a 12-month supply of birth control decreases unplanned pregnancies by 30 percent, compared to a supply of one or three months.
In addition to the Governor, Filler-Corn was joined by Lt. Governor Ralph Northam, and many members of the Virginia General Assembly as well as advocates and activists who filled the room to capacity.
A bipartisan effort with both Democratic and Republican co-patrons, HB 2267 passed near unanimously out of the House of Delegates and 34-6 out of the Senate during the 2017 General Assembly Session. It will take effect on July 1, 2017. In addition to joining six other states and the District of Columbia, Virginia will become the first state in the south to offer women the option to obtain a 12-month supply of birth control pills at one time.
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