Senate Republicans block consideration of bill to create ‘right to contraception’

Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked consideration of legislation that would create a federal right to birth control, after Republicans argued the bill was unnecessary and overly broad.

The vote failed 51-39. 60 votes were needed to proceed to a vote on the underlying legislation.

The legislation from Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and other Democrats is part of an election-year effort to focus on reproductive rights.

They want Republicans to publicly oppose these efforts, especially as the GOP struggles with how to convey its position on reproductive rights in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. Wade.

“We will have Contraception Day here in the United States Senate and everyone will be registered,” Markey said at a press conference before the vote. “And if they say it’s not under threat, then they should just vote yes, to reaffirm that right.”

The bill would guarantee the legal right of individuals to obtain and use contraception and of health care providers to provide contraception, information, referrals, and services related to contraception. This would apply to hormonal birth control pills, the morning-after pill, intrauterine devices (IUDs), and other methods.

It would also prohibit the federal government and any state from administering or enforcing any law, rule, or regulation to prohibit or restrict the sale or use of contraceptives.

“Don’t make mistakes. Americans’ uncertainty about using birth control is one of the many, many shameful consequences of the overturn of Roe v. Wade,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.), on the Senate floor on Wednesday.

“In a perfect world, a bill saying you can access birth control without government interference shouldn’t be necessary, but given the erosion of reproductive rights in America today, it is absolutely vital.”

Republicans argued the bill was unnecessary because they do not oppose contraception and there are no efforts to ban it.

“Senate Democrats are using their majority power to promote an alarmist and false narrative that there was a problem with access to contraception,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said on the Senate floor. candidate for president is behind in the polls.”

But recent moves by Republican state legislators and governors tell a different story.

Notably, Democrats point to Virginia, where lawmakers passed legislation that would have codified the right to contraception in the state constitution. Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed the bill.

Republicans also said the bill was so broad that it could be used to mandate abortion medications instead of contraceptives, and that it violated the religious freedoms of health care providers and religious groups that oppose contraception.

The National Republican Senate Committee sent a memo to GOP Senate candidates this week urging them to express support for increasing access to birth control and to advocate for an alternative bill introduced this week by Sen. Joni Ernst (R- Iowa).

The bill creates a new priority regulatory designation to encourage the development of popular over-the-counter birth control methods. The first OTC birth control pill was approved last year and only recently became available in stores.

“With my bill, we are ensuring that women 18 and older can walk into any pharmacy, whether Red Oak, Iowa or Washington D.C., and purchase a safe and effective birth control option,” Ernst said Wednesday .

But the legislation would not extend to emergency contraceptives, which many Republicans mistakenly view as abortifacients.

Polls consistently show that there is broad bipartisan support for birth control. According to Gallup’s annual Values ​​and Beliefs Survey released last year, 88 percent of Americans said birth control was morally acceptable.

More recently, a February impact survey commissioned by Americans for Contraception found that contraception mobilizes voters who are currently less enthusiastic about elections, including young Hispanic voters and women and voters of color.

One in five Americans say they believe access to birth control is threatened, according to a March survey survey from the health research group KFF.

Much of this sentiment stems from the fact that Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in his concurring opinion in Dobbs that the court should reconsider decisions like the 1965 decision in Griswold v.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story