Schatz Votes To Protect Access To Contraception Nationwide

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), along with the Senate Democratic Caucus, voted to protect people’s right to use contraception as Republicans escalate attacks on reproductive freedoms. With a vote of 51-39, Republicans blocked the bill from advancing for consideration.

Ahead of the vote, Schatz spoke on the Senate floor about the need to enshrine reproductive freedoms into federal statute as Republicans target contraception and IVF in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade.

“No right or freedom, no matter how basic or popular, is off limits until Congress enshrines that right in federal law,” said Senator Schatz. “The Right to Contraception Act does exactly that. It enshrines in federal law the right to birth control, and it protects doctors who are simply doing their jobs by providing it. This should not be controversial. No matter where you stand politically; if you want several kids or you want none at all; whether you're religious or an atheist or somewhere in between. This is about the basic principle that people ought to be able to decide what's best for themselves, their bodies, and their families.”

The full text of Senator Schatz’s remarks can be found below. A video is available here.

For years, people were accused of being hysterical for saying Republicans would actually take away people's reproductive freedoms. The prevailing Republican position to ban abortions in almost every instance, with no exceptions, was so outrageous, so cruel, so unpopular. People said, “Well, they would never actually go through with that.” But two years ago, it finally happened. Roe fell, and tens of millions of women across America lost their right to reproductive freedom overnight.

And now, once again, people question whether Republicans will actually go through with the thing that they say they want to do. It's too morally extreme. It's too politically risky. But the fact is, Republicans have shown no restraint whatsoever when it comes to shredding people's reproductive rights. Overturning Roe was never going to be enough. The project also includes banning birth control and IVF.

It doesn't matter how outrageous it is. It doesn't matter how unpopular it is. It doesn't matter that 92% of Americans support birth control, and almost 90% of women have used it at some point. It doesn't matter that women and families would lose the ability to plan whether and when to have kids. Dismantling reproductive freedoms is central to the Republican agenda. Aside from tax cuts for billionaires, it's kind of their main thing.

No right or freedom, no matter how basic or popular, is off limits until Congress enshrines that right in federal law. The Right to Contraception Act does exactly that. It enshrines in federal law the right to birth control, and it protects doctors who are simply doing their jobs by providing it. This should not be controversial. No matter where you stand politically; if you want several kids or you want none at all; whether you're religious or an atheist or somewhere in between. This is about the basic principle that people ought to be able to decide what's best for themselves, their bodies, and their families.

And yet, over the past two years, since the fall of Roe, Republican lawmakers in at least 17 states – in Nevada, Arizona, Virginia, Wisconsin, Louisiana – have repeatedly killed efforts to protect access to contraception. And Republican-led legislatures in states like Missouri and Idaho are pushing bills to block access to various forms of birth control, including Plan B and IUDs. All the while, you have Donald Trump openly toying with a national contraception ban.

So to say the future of birth control in the United States is in serious jeopardy is not partisan spin. Republicans continue to work at this goal. They want fewer rights, less autonomy, less freedom. And the only way to counter their crusade against people's fundamental freedoms is to enshrine this right in federal statute.

And the really cool thing about the Senate floor is this. This is the place where you find out what people actually think. There was a memo from the NRSC. Interesting memo. A lot of people are talking near the train to the media about what they think about contraception. But in two hours, we get to know what you think about contraception. We get to know whether you actually want to enshrine this right in federal statute or you don't. That is the beauty of this place. And that is the beauty of this bill. At this time, everyone will go on the record.

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