(NewsReady.com) – When the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections in 2022, Democrats expressed concern that the justices might take similar action against contraception in the future. The second anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade is weeks away and the Left hopes to make it a key election issue ahead of November. Now the Senate is voting on a bill to protect contraceptive rights.
On June 2, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (R-NY) wrote a “Dear Colleague” letter. He pointed to the June 24th anniversary of the abortion ruling and said that approximately 20 states now have almost total abortion prohibitions. The senator blamed Republicans and said Democrats are “putting reproductive freedoms front and center” in the coming weeks. That begins with a vote on the Right to Contraception Act.
The legislation would guarantee Americans’ right to access contraceptives. Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) sponsored the bill and 49 other co-sponsors have signed on. It’s not clear if any Republicans will support the legislation when it goes up for a vote.
In his letter to colleagues, Schumer claimed, “The hard-right MAGA Supreme Court’s decision to overturn [federal abortion protections] opened the floodgates for” the GOP to continue to push their anti-reproductive rights agenda on Americans. He pointed to several recent rulings from conservative courts around the country. He also mentioned Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurrence in the Dobbs v. Jackson decision.
The associate justice said that he believes the nation’s high court should reconsider “all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents,” including their decision about marriage equality and ruling to guarantee birth control.
Schumer made it clear that the contraception bill would be the first of many actions taken by Democrats. Even if none of the measures pass, it gives the Left an opportunity to get Republicans on record and use it against them in the campaign season.
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