Towering, Inflatable IUD Visits Tampa in Special 'Tour': Next Stop? Tallahassee

TAMPA, FL—Democrats' latest advocacy plan for reproductive rights? The "IUD Express" Tour, which hauls a 20-foot tall, inflatable intra uterine device around the country to raise awareness on contraceptive access.

Pro-choice group Americans for Contraception hopes the towering structure will "educate, inform, and empower the American public on what is under threat," the group's spokesperson, Chris Fleming, told USA Today.

But...where did the idea come from?

On June 5th, the group first set up their inflatable outside Union Station in D.C.—the same day the U.S. Senate rejected the Democratic-backed Right to Contraception Act, which would have protected the nationwide sale and use of contraceptives like birth control, Plan B pills, condoms, or IUDs—which around 20 percent of women use.

It failed in a 51-39 vote, needing 60 votes to move forward.

Then, on the second anniversary of the Dobbs decision, which removed nationwide abortion protections, the IUD made a surprise reappearance—this time at the Miami-Dade County Courthouse. Three days later, it's been spotted at Gaslight Park in Tampa, where Congresswoman Kathy Castor (D-FL) will speak.

Democrats argue that since Roe v. Wade was overturned and abortion rights became a state-by-state decision, reproductive rights are both vulnerable and under attack. This fear sprung from Justice Clarence Thomas's concurring opinion in the Dobbs decision, where he begged his fellow justices to "reconsider" past cases legalizing same-sex sexual activity and contraceptive access for married couples.

No other justice joined in his opinion, though Democrats immediately began to push for nationwide laws protecting contraception, reproductive rights, and—more recently—IVF treatments. Still, Congress has yet to pass any.

Republicans, on the other hand, claim contraceptive and reproductive access is protected, meaning bills like the Right to Contraception Act are largely unnecessary.

As for the next stop in the "IUD Express" Tour? Tallahassee, though no dates have been confirmed.