With No-Cost Contraception on the Line in Republican Shutdown, Rep. McClellan Joins Advocates, Doctors and Virginia Women for World Menopause Day Roundtable
Richmond, Va. — With no-cost contraception for thousands of Virginia women on the line in the Republican shutdown, Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) on Friday joined advocates, doctors and impacted Virginians for a World Menopause Day roundtable at Virginia League for Planned Parenthood’s Church Hill location.
Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, center, speaks at an Oct. 17 World Menopause Day panel in Richmond as Birth in Color’s Kenda Denia (left) and Dr. Susan Miller of Richmond look on. (Photo by Bert Shepherd).
View a recording of the event HERE and photos from the event HERE.
All Affordable Care Act plans provide no-cost contraception, which can be used to treat the symptoms of perimenopause, but 106,000 Virginians are expected to drop their Virginia Marketplace plans if Congress does not renew the enhanced Premium Tax Credits that lower the cost of premiums for nearly nine out of 10 shoppers. Republicans’ refusal to renew these tax credits has led to the government shutdown. Premiums will rise by hundreds of dollars a month for many families if these tax credits are taken away.
For the uninsured, cost becomes an immediate barrier. According to a 2024 KFF survey, one in five uninsured women had to stop using a birth control method because they couldn’t afford it.
“By gutting the Affordable Care Act and gutting access to contraception, without an outright ban, these politicians are putting access out of reach for many people,” said Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan. “Now as I approach menopause, I want the ability to decide whether or not I treat those symptoms. And yet if these tax credits expire, not only will free access to contraception potentially go away as millions of Americans decide they can’t afford the premium for their health insurance, or whether we continue to see an erosion of our legal rights to access to contraception, this is a fight we’re not backing down from. Too many people have too much at stake for us to back down now.”
“We are living through a perfect storm of health care cuts right now that compound one another,” said Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia Executive Director Jamie Lockhart. “We are seeing reductions in Medicaid, the expiration of critical health tax credits, the ‘defunding’ of Planned Parenthood, and deep cuts to the Title X family planning program. Each of these attacks alone would hurt patients, but together, they represent an unprecedented attack on access to basic health care, including care for people going through menopause. The truth is, menopause care is reproductive health care. It’s not optional or secondary. It’s essential to the health, comfort and quality of life for millions of people.”
“We also want to get the message out when we’re doing community presentations or professional development, that you don't have to suffer when it comes to menopause,” said Dr. Shaashawn Dial, Vice President of Education at Virginia League for Planned Parenthood. “The more educated you are, then you can address your symptoms and figure out what are my options regarding my symptoms. So we want to be champions of voices that you don’t just have to accept suffering, that you can talk to health care professionals and build a network of folks for navigating this period of life.”
“I'm 50 years old, I’m still relying on birth control, not just to prevent an unwanted pregnancy that could be disastrous at this age, but also to help me with a myriad of other symptoms that are common in women at this stage in life,” said Sarah Goodman of Roanoke. “I had no idea that I would continue to need contraceptives to treat perimenopausal conditions, but I absolutely do. It’s critical. And I fail to understand how something that is so obviously a personal medical health care issue is being treated by Republicans as a partisan issue. Republicans in Congress blocked the federal Right to Contraception Act. Governor Youngkin vetoed the Right to Contraception Act. My own representatives, Delegate McNamara and Senator Suetterlein, both voted against protecting my right to access the medication I need for my health.”
“Let’s be clear, this moment is not just about policy. It’s about power,” said Executive Director of Birth in Color Kenda Denia. “When Republicans in Congress voted to gut the Affordable Care Act and slash Medicaid, the largest health care cuts in our history, they didn't just balance numbers on a spreadsheet. They made a choice. They chose billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos over mothers fighting to stay healthy. They chose profit over people, and we know who pays the price. It’s the Black woman who can’t find the doctor in her county. It’s the Latina woman who has to skip care because she can’t afford a visit. It’s the women navigating menopause or seeking contraception without a trusted provider to turn to. These are the lives behind the statistics, and they are lives worth fighting for.”
“I’m 42 years old and I was not expecting to have to need contraceptives again … because of the fibroids, because of the perimenopausal symptoms that I have been experiencing,” said Janicka Fernandez of Chesterfield County. “Eighty percent of Black women have fibroids and it’s an issue. My OB said if you do not get on contraceptives, you will have to have a hysterectomy. Being a woman that’s been cut on three times already, one of them ending with a miscarriage and then removing ovarian cysts and being hospitalized, I did not want to have to be cut on again. And so these contraceptives that we’re talking about … this isn’t something that is an option, it’s a must. It’s no different than high blood pressure medication, than psych medications.”
“I remember when menstruation and menopause were not openly discussed and women hesitated to ask for help for symptoms with either one,” said Dr. Susan Miller, a retired family doctor from Richmond. “Birth control treats the symptoms of menopause. I went into menopause a little early, at age 46, when I was still in a busy practice, and it came on hard. I literally was having a hot flash every five minutes, and I could barely concentrate to see my patients. But I had access. I walked over to the sample closet and got myself a pack of birth control pills, and in three days I was a lot better. I want all women to have access to lifetime reproductive care, just like I did.”
“I have four beautiful daughters. I know I don't want any more beautiful daughters,” said Sequoia Ross of Amelia County. “I also know that I’m going through early menopause and, let me tell you, perimenopause is spicy. It is spicy. And if this medication is going to help smooth some things out and make me calmer and take some of the edge off, because if you’re not a woman, you don't understand. If you haven't experienced it, you don’t understand. Your hormones are everywhere. You feel happy one minute, you’re raging the next. …. I don’t want to be 60, still having hot flashes. I don’t want to be angry. I don’t want to feel like I’m not in control of my body. So I’m making these choices.”
World Menopause Day, observed annually on October 18, highlights how contraception and hormonal care remain essential to women’s health, autonomy, and dignity at midlife.
The event was co-hosted by Americans for Contraception and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia.
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