As Alabama lawmakers scramble to pass legislation to protect fertility treatments, one Alabama lawmaker is pushing to enshrine a right to access birth control.

The Right to Contraception Act, filed Tuesday by Rep. Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, would protect Alabamians ability to get contraception.

“This bill would recognize that individuals have the right to engage in contraception and that health care providers have the right to both dispense contraceptive devices and provide information about their use,” reads the bill.

The legislation would allow the attorney general, health care providers or individuals to bring a civil suit over any laws, rules, or policies that prevent the distribution and use of contraceptives.

Americans for Contraception, a national non-profit group that worked with Daniels, who is the House Minority Leader, and lawmakers in other states to draft the bills, released a poll last month showing that 81% of voters support the federal version of the Right to Contraception Act, which 195 House Republicans voted against in 2022.

Yet some prominent Alabama pro-life groups say they are in favor of the state bill. Dr. Randy Brinson, president of the Christian Coalition of Alabama, said he thinks a right to contraception is aligned with a pro-life stance because it helps prevent unplanned pregnancies.

“There’s a huge difference between a right to contraception and the ability of people to obtain contraception,” said Brinson, “and taking a baby’s life that’s already been fertilized in the womb, implanted and has a heartbeat.”

Contraception is defined in the bill as “Any action taken to prevent pregnancy, including the use of contraceptives or sterilization procedure.”

Similar bills have been filed in other states this year, and one was passed last month in Virginia.

“Post-Dobbs, voters are deeply concerned about their access to contraception, and the threat that the Supreme Court will overturn the constitutional right to contraception is real to them,” the group stated in a press release about the poll.

Attorney Eric Johnston, author of Alabama’s abortion ban, and the president of the Alabama Pro-Life Coalition, said he supports a right to contraception, although he had not yet seen the specific language of the bill.

“Contraception for most pro-life people in the coalition is not an issue,” he said.