GOP blocks contraception bill in Senate as Democrats seek political edge

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked action on legislation to codify the right to contraception access nationwide, a bill Democrats brought to the floor to spotlight an issue on which the GOP is at odds with a vast majority of voters.

All but two Republicans present — Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine — voted against advancing the legislation. Democrats, who unanimously supported it, were left nine votes short of the 60 they would need to take up the bill, which would protect a reproductive health option that many voters worry is actively at risk of being stripped away.

“This should be an easy vote,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said on the Senate floor before the vote. “It almost shouldn’t be necessary.”

But Murray said that Republican lawmakers have made it so by seeking to advance anti-abortion legislation that could limit access to contraceptives like Plan B and IUDs.

“To say the future of birth control in the United States is in serious jeopardy is not partisan spin,” said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, noting that former President Donald Trump recently said he was looking at supporting restrictions on contraception. (Trump quickly backtracked, writing on social media that he would “never advocate imposing restrictions on birth control.”)

Democrats have been clamoring to codify the right to contraception for two years, since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a concurring opinion that the court “should reconsider” other precedents beyond Roe, including those protecting same-sex marriage and the right to contraception.

Before the vote on Wednesday, Republicans dismissed the bill as a political stunt and laid out a range of reasons that they were opposed to it — all while claiming that they fully supported access to contraception.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, complained that there was “no legitimate effort” to take away access to birth control and therefore no need for legislation to protect it. He also claimed that the bill “would force health care providers to provide abortion drugs.”

The Right to Contraception Act would prohibit local, state, or federal governments from restricting access to contraception.