As an IUD user, I know all about little, characterless guys trying to get as far into our reproductive system as possible.

Editor’s note: Freeda is the 20-foot-long IUD from Americans for Contraception, which is traveling across the country on an “IUD Express Tour” to raise awareness of attacks on access to contraception.

I’m a 20-foot-long inflatable coil having the wildest summer of my life. I’ve been driving around the United States for two months since June. But I’m not just on vacation – I’m on a mission: I want to make sure Americans know that their right to contraception is under threat.

I am not a Tesla logo. I am not a pogo stick. I am a spiral and I defend your freedoms every day.

I’ve garnered significant attention in Washington, DC and state capitals. I’ve stood near U.S. landmarks like the LOVE statue in Philadelphia, the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign, and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. I’ve made friends with lawmakers, TikTokers, and even Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers. I’ve met Zach Bryan fans in Nashville, Olivia Rodrigo fans in Philly, and Chappell Roan fans at Lollapalooza. (Next up: Burning Man!)

From my first day, I learned that some people don’t even know what I am. Guys, I’m not a Tesla logo. I’m not a pogo stick. I’m a spiral and I defend your freedoms every day.

Many people don’t know this, but all across the country, Republican politicians are blocking, voting for, or imposing bills that would protect our right to contraceptives like IUDs. I block things for a living, and these people are frighteningly good at it.

You might not consider a giant inflatable spiral to be a credible source of information. But here are the facts:

• Birth control is under fire. At least 13 states have introduced bills that could restrict access to IUDs and other basic contraceptives. In 2022, 90 percent of Republicans in the House voted against the Right to Contraception Act, a bill that would have protected the right to birth control nationwide.
• When the state legislatures of Nevada and Virginia – with bipartisan support – passed laws protecting the right to birth control, their Republican governors vetoed them.
• The far-right program designed for the next Republican president, called “Project 2025,” proposes to deprive 48 million women of access to free emergency contraception, restrict funding from the Title X program – thus giving millions of people the opportunity to afford contraception – and cut funding to Planned Parenthood, which provides contraception to two million women each year.
• When IUDs lose our jobs, our freedom to plan families is also at risk. More than 4 million women in the United States use IUDs to prevent pregnancy, relieve painful periods, treat endometriosis, and more.

One of us had to stand up to the Republicans’ creepy plans, so I joined forces with Americans for Contraception to tour the United States and have never looked back.

Everyone who walks past me and says, “What the hell is that?” is another person who is learning how fragile their freedom to plan their family is. In this summer of coconuts and couches, it’s easy to doubt that we could really lose our right to birth control. But many people also doubted that the right to abortion would ever really be taken away from us.

Consider this: When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade– a result for which Donald Trump has repeatedly taken credit – Justice Clarence Thomas asked the court to “reconsider” another fundamental decision: Griswold v. Connecticut.

Griswold is that roe of birth control. It’s a 1965 Supreme Court case that established the right to birth control as a matter of privacy. Before that, in many states and municipalities, it was illegal to use birth control or even to share information about how to prevent pregnancy.

Judge Thomas’ threat, Griswold sends a chill down my spine. The Supreme Court could decide the future of birth control sooner than we think.

From the Supreme Court to Congress, these GOP nutcases are obsessed with policing our private lives. I will continue to stand firm and tell Americans about the urgent need to support #ProtectProtection before the GOP rips it away – but I can’t stay pompous forever.

So I urge you: before you vote this year, find out whether your representatives will protect your family planning freedom. If not, can you really trust them to protect the rest of your freedoms?

As an IUD patient, I know all about spineless little guys trying to get as far into our reproductive systems as possible. This election is our chance to stop them.

Here’s where the 20-foot spiral Freeda (Womb) is going next:

19-23 August: Chicago
27.August: Toledo, Ohio
28.08.: Cleveland, Ohio
6 and 7 September: New York City