The bill passed the Democratic-controlled House by a vote of 228 to 195.
The House of Representatives today approved a bill guaranteeing access to contraception, responding to concerns that that right could be threatened by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority, which overturned a case law guaranteeing the right to abortion at the federal level.
The bill passed the Democratic-controlled House by a vote of 228 in favor to 195 against. Eight Republicans voted for it, but it is uncertain whether it will pass the Senate. By this text, it is considered a federal right that all people have access to contraceptives, and doctors and pharmacists are required to provide them. According to the Guttmache Institute, an abortion rights group, 88% of women of reproductive age who are not trying to have a child use birth control. A number of states have proposed bills to restrict access to contraceptives, but none have yet passed. Additionally, 12 states allow health care providers to refuse to administer contraceptives. “We need federal laws to make it absolutely clear that people have the right to buy and use birth control,” said Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning. Republican Kath McMorris Rogers however, he argued that this right is not at risk and that Republicans understand that there is a “clear difference” between contraception and abortion. But he claimed the law would force health care providers to “compromise their religious beliefs.”
The Democrats introduced the bill for debate after the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision on abortion. Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas said in his opinion that the Court should review other decisions regarding the right to contraception, same-sex marriage and other rights that were based on the same legal argument as Roe v. Wade .
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