Georgia CommonsHouse · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 872: Health; right to contraception for individuals; provide
Last action March 31, 2025 · House Second Readers
A Georgia House bill would write a right to contraception into state law, defining conception and contraception and stating that females have the right to use any method of contraception.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Currently, Code Section 31-1-20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated is 'reserved,' meaning it holds no substantive text. This bill would fill that empty section with new language establishing a right to contraception in Georgia law. The bill defines 'conception' as the process of combining sperm and egg to form a fertilized egg, and defines 'contraception' as any method of preventing pregnancy before that point occurs. It then states that females have the right to use any means of contraception. The bill also repeals any existing state laws that conflict with this new provision, though it does not specify what, if any, current laws would be affected.
What the bill does
- Fills in a previously empty (reserved) section of Georgia law, O.C.G.A. § 31-1-20, with new substantive text about contraception.
- Defines 'conception' as the combining of sperm and egg into a fertilized egg or zygote.
- Defines 'contraception' as any method that stops a pregnancy from developing before conception occurs.
- States directly that females have the right to use any method of contraception.
- Repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with this new right, without naming specific laws.
Who it affects
The bill directly affects females in Georgia by stating their right to use contraception, and it could affect any existing state law or regulation that conflicts with that right, since those conflicting provisions would be repealed.
Why it matters
By writing a contraception right directly into Georgia's health code, the bill would give explicit legal backing to access to birth control methods in the state. It could also affect the status of any other Georgia law found to conflict with this right.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 31-1-20, previously reserved with no content, to add subsections (a) and (b).
- Subsection (a)(1) defines 'conception' as combining sperm and egg to form a fertilized ovum or zygote.
- Subsection (a)(2) defines 'contraception' as any method inhibiting pregnancy development before conception.
- Subsection (b) states that females have the right to use any means of contraception.
- Section 2 repeals all laws and parts of laws that conflict with the Act, without identifying which laws those might be.
From the bill
“Females have the right to the use of any means of contraception.”
“'Contraception' means a method of inhibiting the development of a human pregnancy at any stage prior to conception.”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Sharon Cooper (R, HD-45)
- Deborah Silcox (R, HD-53)
- Beth Camp (R, HD-135)
- Bethany Ballard (R, HD-147)
- Jan Jones (R, HD-47)
- Darlene Taylor (R, HD-173)
Topics
- contraception rights
- reproductive health
- women's health
- Georgia health law