This post was originally published on The Washington Informer
By Ashleigh Fields
Citizens across the nation are in shock and outrage after the Senate failed to pass a bill protecting contraceptives under federal law. After the repeal of landmark Supreme Court cases like Roe v. Wade in 2022 and the abortion bans in states like Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, many feel they have nowhere to turn for reproductive resources.
“Just when we thought they couldn’t get more out of touch, Senate Republicans just BLOCKED our bill to protect access to birth control and contraceptives,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Democrat, posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) after the late vote. “Their unwillingness to protect these basic rights is shameful but, sadly, not unexpected.”
The bill failed to pass by just nine votes with 51 in favor and 39 opposing. Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) both broke away from their party to side in favor of the legislation, which would have established a statutory right for people to obtain contraceptives in addition to prohibiting all forms of government from restricting the sale, provision, or use of contraception. A basic premise that few thought needed to be upheld in such apparent legal terms.
“For almost 60 years, people have had the right to access contraception. In 1965, the Supreme Court ruled, in Griswold v. Connecticut, that states could not block married couples from being able to access contraception. This ruling paved the way for the 1972 Supreme Court decision in Eisenstadt v. Baird, expanding the right to contraception to unmarried people,” Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin (D) said in a statement. “Despite these protections – and 96% of voters supporting access to birth control – some lawmakers continue to attack this basic right.”
He later explained that the decision to have a child is not only a health care issue, but correlated to economics and opportunities as well.
“Deciding whether to have a child is not only a health care issue but tied directly to economic opportunities, research demonstrates that when women are given more control over family planning and childbearing decisions, educational, career, and professional opportunities open up to them,” he added.
Organizations like Americans for Contraception strongly agree with Cardin’s sentiments, which is why they took to the streets positioning a 20-foot, inflatable IUD a few blocks from the Capitol to solidify their stance. National Women’s Law Center, a local non-profit, also issued a statement urging Congress to consider the importance of this bill as a human rights matter.
“They are purposely conflating birth control and abortion, redefining pregnancy in ways that could criminalize the use of birth control, or otherwise trying to undermine access to contraception, especially methods like emergency contraception and intrauterine devices (IUDs),” the organization wrote in their online release. “Activists opposed to birth control have already created a detailed policy plan for what they hope will be another Trump administration starting in 2025, a plan that targets emergency contraception and seeks to use the federal government’s powers to undermine contraceptive access.The Right to Contraception Act itself is a telling example of the threat to birth control rights and access.”
As thousands weigh in on this issue, Republicans like Tim Scott claim Democrats are trying to “politicize” contraceptives.
He said access to birth control has always been and always will be readily available for Americans.
“The question is why Democrats continue to take the most extreme position on abortion in the country,” Scott said in an interview with Fox News. “All the Senate Democrats have voted, not talked about but voted for abortion up until the day of birth.”
He condemned that stance stating, “It’s wrong, it’s un-American.”
Reproductive freedoms continue to be a point of contention as the 2024 election unfolds. Democrats, Republicans and advocates will continue to debate on the topic with hopes of molding a sustainable reality post-Roe v. Wade.
The post Senate Votes to Block Contraception Bill appeared first on The Washington Informer.
