Schumer To Put Senate Republicans on the Spot on Access to Birth Control
Leader sets up votes two years after Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade
With abortion rights and the reproductive health of women having become potent political weapons in favor of Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to bring up legislation that will force Republicans to go on-the-record heading towards the November elections.
These Senate votes also will come at the second anniversary of the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, upending nearly half a century of guaranteed access to abortion services nationwide.
Schumer (D-NY) spoke Thursday on the Senate floor on beginning the process to consider the Right to Contraception Act, putting reproductive rights front and center and confronting the draconian restrictions of individual liberty being enforced by Republicans across the country.
Nearly half the states have enacted at least some restrictions on abortion rights since the high court’s decision in 2022. Republicans and others on the political right now want to go further, imposing limits on such reproductive rights as in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and contraception.
“Senate Democrats will put reproductive freedoms front and center when we return after the Memorial Day state work period. Two days ago, I began the process for the Senate to consider the Right to Contraception Act, led by Sens Markey and Hirono. We will consider that bill in June,” Schumer said, referring to Democratic Sens Ed Market, of Massachusetts, and Mazie Hirono, of Hawaii.
The Right to Contraception Act would codify and strengthen the right to contraception, which the Supreme Court first recognized more than half a century ago in its Griswold v. Connecticut decision. Enshrining the right to contraception into federal law would reverse steps already taken by Republicans in states across the country to restrict access to contraceptives and ensure that any future attempt by the far-right majority on the Supreme Court to overturn Griswold would not endanger access to this essential health care, according to supporters of the legislation.
“And there will be more action to come after that. At a time when tens of millions of women are worried about reproductive health — although many male Americans are worried as well — Senate Democrats will focus on protecting fundamental freedoms like the right to choose, access to IVF, continued access to contraception, and more,” Schumer added. “Democrats will never relent until we reverse the immense damage that the Supreme Court has inflicted on this country. And the American people have a right to know where their elected officials stand on protecting the rights and reproductive care.”
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