United States – Legislation to protect the ability to purchase contraceptives was not moved out of the U. S. Senate this week on Wednesday after the Democrats insisted on a trial debate with the aim of drawing attention to women’s rights to vote before the coming November vote, as reported by Reuters.
Legislative Stalemate on Contraception Rights
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s Right to Contraception Act gained 51 against and 39 against but did not go through to the full debate as 60 was needed to pass through the chamber.
This is an often contentious issue in the United States, especially since the Supreme Court of the United States in 2022 largely repealed by reversing the Roe v. Wade decision that established a constitutional right to abortion.
Last month, the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump faced considerable criticism from political opponents for the implication of a suggestion that he might consider banning birth control, after which he was forced to offer a public comment where he stated that he would not support such a move.
Calls for Federal Legislation
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday cited Nevada and Virginia as Republican-led states where governors have vetoed measures to preserve legal access to contraception and said that legalization proves the necessity for federal legislation.
“We are kidding ourselves if we think the hard right will stop at overturning Roe,” he said.
House Minority Democrats promised they would try to bring up the same bill for a vote by using a procedural tactic known as a discharge petition, despite what appeared to be little chance that it would work considering the Republican-led House chamber.
House Democrats’ Strategy
“Republicans have a choice to make: They can put aside their MAGA ideology and join us (to) get this bill passed, or they can triple down on their anti-freedom extremism in full view of the American people,” No. 2 House Democrat Katherine Clark said on Tuesday.
Republican Reactions
Republican Representative Marc Molinaro, during the November 2022 election, was victorious in his home political region by only a difference of 1.6, which needs 60 votes to pass and is opposed by the civil service unions, said on Wednesday he would cosponsor the legislation, the first Republican to do so.
Others in the GOP Senate also expressed their disapproval of the call.
“It’s an election year in which a Democratic incumbent president is running behind, so a decision has been made to raise abortion to a high profile,” said Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, referring to President Joe Biden. “You can’t normalize a procedure where the intent is to end a life.”
Public Opinion and Upcoming Votes
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in early May with 3,934 adults in the U. S about their voting intentions showed 37% of the electorate believed Biden had a better approach to abortion than 27% who felt the same about Trump before the November 5 toss-up election, as reported by Reuters.
Schumer added next week; the Democrats will also vote for a bill to safeguard in-vitro fertilization, where the Senate Republicans had previously voted against a bill after an Alabama court made the fertility treatment that millions of Americans use to conceive a violation of law in the state.