Report: Ohio Republican Bernie Moreno opposes bill protecting birth control access

Bernie Moreno, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Ohio, said he would oppose a bill protecting access to birth control. 

On June 5, the senate voted on the Right to Contraception Act, a bill that would federally protect an individual’s right to obtain and use birth control. The legislation, which required 60 votes to pass, was near-unanimously blocked by Republican lawmakers.

A spokesperson for Moreno’s campaign told the Columbus Dispatch that Moreno would have joined in that blockade.

“Bernie supports comprehensive access to birth control for women but not the far-left gimmicks in this bill,” Reagan McCarthy said.

Moreno’s opponent, incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, supported the legislation.

This is not Moreno’s first time taking a stand against birth control. In November 2023, Ohioans voted overwhelmingly in support of Issue 1, a ballot initiative that added abortion rights and contraception protections to the Ohio state constitution. Moreno opposed Issue 1 and bragged about donating $100,000 to a group that tried to defeat it.

“​​I’m the only one on the stage that’s actually written a check from their own bank account,” Moreno said during a Feb. 19 candidate forum. “You know, career politicians love to write checks from our bank accounts, I wrote a check from my own bank account for pro life causes. And when you take that action you’re spending your own money, that tells you what you actually believe in that cause.”

Moreno has also voiced support for restrictions that would undermine Issue 1. In January, he said he would support a federal law banning abortion at 15 weeks gestation. That is shorter than the 21 weeks and six days currently allowed under Ohio law.

Abortion, birth control, and reproductive health are expected to be major issues in the 2024 elections. Moreno’s stance could put him out of step with most Ohioans who say they support abortion rights. 

Moreno stirred controversy last February when he answered a question about abortion access during a candidate forum by suggesting that women don’t need abortion rights as long as kind strangers are willing to help them with mundane tasks, like lifting strollers into overhead compartments on airplanes. 

“My daughter just took a flight to go back home to where she lives,” Moreno said. “You know, Mom carrying what looks like an F1 team worth of equipment. People helped her on that plane; help put the stroller away, helped her with her seat, gave up her seat. Those are the kinds of things that we can do. Let’s be a pro-mom, pro-family policy.”

A Moreno spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request to comment for this story.