The vote on the #RightToContraceptionAct was 51-39, falling short of the 60 votes needed to defeat a #filibuster & move forward. Republicans said the bill is unnecessary as the use of #BirthControl is protected under #SCOTUS precedent as if [#SupremeCourt precedent means anything anymore].
The legislation would establish nationwide #rights for individuals to “obtain #contraceptives & to voluntarily engage in #contraception” & protect #healthcare providers who offer it. It defines contraceptives as “any drug, device, or biological product intended for use in the prevention of pregnancy” & prohibits #federal or #state governments from enforcing #laws or standards that impede that right. It empowers the #DOJ & affected private entities to sue to enforce the new protections.
#Democrats argue the bill is necessary because #SCOTUS cannot be trusted to uphold its #precedent on protecting the use of #contraceptives in the 1965 case #GriswoldVConnecticut. They note that when the court invalidated federal #AbortionRights in 2022, Justice #ClarenceThomas wrote separately saying that the court “should reconsider” other precedents like the #contraception case. And they cite a recent survey that found 1 in 5 Americans believe the right to contraception is under threat.
#Republicans in ≥17 states have blocked #laws assuring the right to #BirthControl since 2022. Most recently, #Virginia Gov Glenn #Youngkin (R) vetoed a bill meant to ensure #access to #contraceptives, saying while he personally supports access, he was loath to “trample on the #religious freedoms of Virginians,” incl’g #medical providers [what about everyone else’s freedoms?] #Trump suggested that he was open to restricting access to #contraception.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced the #Senate will vote on a bill to protect a person's ability to access #contraceptives this Wednesday.
Why it matters:
The vote on the
⭐️Right to Contraception Act ⭐️
comes just ahead of the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court striking down federal abortion rights protections and as Democrats highlight the matter as a key 2024 election issue.
Schumer wrote in a "Dear Colleague" letter released Sunday: "Democrats will be putting reproductive freedoms front and center."
in his concurring opinion overturning Roe v. Wade
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote
that the bench should reconsider
"all of this Court's substantive due process precedents,"
including those guaranteeing birth control access and marriage equality.
Schumer promised in the letter that there would be "more action" after next week's vote on the "Right to Contraception Act"
which is led by by Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii).
State of play:
Schumer noted since the Supreme Court's June 24, 2022 decision in the Dobbs case, that 🔥at least 20 states have imposed near-total bans or severe restrictions on abortion.🔥
"There's no question in the American people's minds that Republicans have brought our country to this point," Schumer wrote.
"And as Donald Trump reminded us recently, he is 'proudly the person responsible' for the annihilation of Roe v. Wade and the grotesque reversal of women's personal freedoms," he added.
"Democrats have been clear we will not stand for these attacks and we will fight to preserve reproductive freedoms.
That is why as we return from the Memorial Day state work period, Senate Democrats will be putting reproductive freedoms front and center."
🔸The bill would guarantee the legal right for individuals to get and use contraception and for health care providers to provide contraception, information, referrals and services related to contraception.
🔸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 contraception.
"The same folks who laughed when women became concerned about Roe v. Wade after Trump confirmed three Supreme Court justices during his time in office will push this one aside. That would be a mistake. …
Remember the ads about the Republican congressman in your bedroom? Next up is Justice Alito deciding what you can get at your pharmacy. It’s a slippery slope."
"Griswold v. Connecticut is the 1965 Supreme Court decision that legalized birth control. Last week, Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn called the decision 'constitutionally unsound.' Blackburn, formerly a member of the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party and now staunchly pro-Trump, is not a lawyer."
The Trumpers are now going for the jugular in attacking the great 1965 precedent on which nearly all federal rights of privacy and personal autonomy depend, Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, upholding the right to use #contraceptives when having sexual relations.