Democrats back Republicans into a corner and shine light on extremist stances on contraception

Nearly every Senate Republican refused to support a measure that would protect the right to contraception in the United States while GOP lawmakers across the country are blocking efforts to ensure access to birth control.

Two years after the Supreme Court revoked a constitutional right to abortion care, a bill to enshrine contraception access into law failed to reach the floor of the upper chamber of Congress on Wednesday.

The Right to Contraception Act – which passed in the House of Representatives in 2022 one month after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade – would establish statutory rights for people to obtain and use birth control and for doctors to provide it, while protecting the availability of oral and emergency contraceptives and intrauterine devices.

Only two Republicans – Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski – voted in favor of bringing the bill to the floor.

The measure needed 60 votes to head to a vote on the bill but failed by a vote of 51-39. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer changed his vote to a “no” in the hopes of bringing it up again at another date.

A companion measure in the House has more than 200 cosponsors, but the Republican-controlled chamber is unlikely to bring it to a vote.

Republican lawmakers have criticized the measure as an election year stunt, designed to rally voters around unfounded fears about threats to reproductive healthcare. But Democratic officials and abortion rights advocates have warned that contraception access is hanging by a thread without federal protections.

“We should make it clear what our stance is on this, and I think that this shows what the differences are between Republicans and Democrats on this important issue,” Minnesota Democratic Senator