Topline
The House of Representatives passed a bill that would codify the right to contraceptives Thursday, amid fears the Supreme Court could be looking to rescind them, but the bill faces worse odds in the Senate.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., talks with reporters ahead of a planned vote in the … [+]
Key Facts
The House’s 228-195 vote, largely along party lines, sends the bill to the Senate, where three Democratic Senators, Ed Markey (Mass.), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii) and Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), have filed a similar version, although Democrats face a difficult hurdle in order to pick up 10 Republican Senators to reach the 60 votes needed to pass.
The Right to Contraception Act seeks to codify into federal law individuals’ ability to obtain and use contraceptives, including birth control pills and emergency contraception like Plan B, and protects health care providers that offer them.
The bill is a direct response to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who in his concurring opinion on the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade argued the court should revisit other landmark decisions that enshrined the right to same-sex marriage and contraceptives to “correct the error” the court made.
All 220 Democrats in the House, along with eight Republicans — Liz Cheney (Wyo.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Penn.), Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio), John Katko (N.Y.), Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Nancy Mace (S.C.), Maria Salazar (Fla.) and Fred Upton (Mich.)— voted for the bill, while two Republicans did not vote either way, instead voting “present.”
The right to contraception is a “fundamental right, central to a person’s privacy, health, wellbeing, dignity, liberty, equality and ability to participate in the social and economic life of the nation,” the legislation states.
Key Background
Even though the court’s decision last month in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization did not apply to anything other than the right to abortion, law experts warn it could lead to similar rulings to overturn two other landmark decisions: the 1965 Griswold v. Connecticut case that protects the right to marital privacy and contraceptives, and Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Conservative lawmakers have targeted birth control and emergency contraceptives, as well as abortion, for decades, more recently attempting to block Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, which administers contraceptives.
Tangent
On Tuesday, the House passed a bill to codify the right to same-sex marriage into federal law, with 47 Republicans joining all 220 House Democrats in support. If passed by the Senate and signed by President Joe Biden, it would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as “only a legal union between one man and one woman.”
Big Number
90%. That’s the share of Americans that believe condoms and birth control pills should be legal in “all” or “most” cases, according to a FiveThirtyEight poll conducted in the week after the Dobbs decision. Another 81% believe intrauterine devices (IUDs) should be legal in the same scenarios.
What We Don’t Know
Senate Democrats are expected to be near unanimous in support of the bill, which requires 60 votes to pass, while most Senate Republicans have either stayed quiet or said they will reject it. Republican Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) and moderate Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Az.), who introduced legislation in February to codify abortion rights enshrined by Roe v. Wade and reaffirmed by Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), have not said publicly whether they would support the bill. Neither have Senate Minority Whip John Thune (S.D.), National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Rick Scott (Fla.), Mitt Romney (Utah), Tommy Tuberville (Ala.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.), who all told Axios last week they wouldn’t comment on the bill until they’ve had time to read it. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W. Va.) is another toss-up. In May, Manchin, along with Sinema, blocked a bill that sought to codify abortion into federal law, from moving to a vote by refusing to abolish the filibuster to overcome the 60-vote threshold it needed to pass. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Ak.), on the other hand, said she would support codifying contraception rights.
Crucial Quote
“My state is banning almost all exceptions for women including who’ve been raped and victims of incest,” Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) tweeted Thursday. “You can’t ban abortion and then not protect women’s access to contraceptives.”
Further Reading
Overturning Roe V. Wade: Here’s How It Could Threaten Birth Control Access (Forbes)
FDA Considers Over-The-Counter Birth Control Pills Amid Sudden Fears Of Restrictions (Forbes)
After Roe v. Wade Vote, Access To Contraception Could Be Under Scrutiny (Forbes)
House Passes Bill Protecting Gay Marriage—47 Republicans Vote ‘Yes’ (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/07/21/house-passes-bill-protecting-right-to-contraceptives—heads-to-senate-next/